Sanctuary
by GreenLady
Summary: A routine mission gone wrong, and the demon fox finds that freedom looks different than expected. Yaoi. (KyubiNaruto). Complete.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer**: Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and various affiliates. I own nothing. This is a non-profit work by a fan for fans – that's all.

**Warning:** Bad language folks; don't let your kids read this unless you want to widen their vocabulary. Homosexual relationships, or at least hints at said relationships. And of course, violence. There ninjas, what do you expect?

**Authors Notes**: I know, I know, I'm supposed to be working on Overload, but then Nine-Tails showed up and held his pointy little claws to my throat until I gave in. If you think plot bunnies are bad, try a plot _fox_. I wasn't going to start another multi-chaptered fic either. So much for my good intentions. . .

This is kind of a TWT, (time line? What time line?). I've seen the anime and read a lot of the manga, so all you need to know here is that there older and it's some time in the future. All the kids are around 16.

**Sanctuary**

**Prologue**

The dancing flames of the campfire popped and crackled mockingly, a willing ally to Naruto's particular brand of mischief. The blond ninja cast a covert glance over the miniature inferno at the still, Sasuke-shaped figure hiding half in shadow. The flickering firelight made his expression frustratingly indeterminable. Was he annoyed? Pissed off? Uncaring? Glowingly happy?

Okay, so maybe the last one wasn't too likely.

Naruto stuck a twig into the flames, and, once he got it amongst the searing coals, twitched his wrist deftly. He watched avidly as a tiny spark arced up, and up, and up . . . to land within an inch of Sasuke's sandaled foot. Naruto cheered silently to himself. This was the closest one yet. The other boy had to be getting at least mildly irritated, or at least starting to fear for the safety of his as-of-yet un-burnt foot. His gaze flickered back deviously to check Sasuke's face. The dark-haired boy was stubbornly staring out into the forest, firmly ignoring his teammate, as he had been for the past ten minutes.

Just as stubbornly, Naruto twisted his wrist, yet again sending a flaming ash to litter the area around Sasuke's feet. Quickly, the blond glanced up again. It looked like Sasuke's eye was twitching, but it was hard to be sure in the low light.

Naruto chortled to himself quietly. Served the bastard right for ignoring him. Maybe he'd get lucky and Sasuke would pop a blood vessel.

He went several minutes without sending out another coal, waiting for Sasuke to let his guard down, waiting for him to decide that Naruto had given up.

Then he did it again.

Suddenly, he had to roll hastily to the right in order to dodge a swiftly thrown kunai. Naruto grinned evilly. Finally, the stoic jerk had snapped.

Took him long enough.

Dark eyes glared at the laughing blond. And Sasuke seethed. Then his eyes narrowed, a slight smirk graced his thin lips, and he, very deliberately, turned back around and returned to ignoring Naruto.

Naruto was good at being irritating. It was a skill, hard learned after much practice. But Sasuke wasn't actually a slouch in that department either. He took being an arrogant prick to a whole new level, and he certainly knew the blond enough now to know what would infuriate him the most.

Naruto's laugh cut off abruptly, and he took a step towards his rival, suddenly fuming. "Why you bastard . . ."

"Oi! What is this? I leave for two minutes and you pick a fight with Sasuke? Cha, how troublesome." The voice belonged to Nara Shikamaru, genius and all-around lazy guy, the third in their hastily slapped together unit. He walked over to their campfire and let the bundle of wood he had gathered drop carelessly into the flames, resulting in a shower of sparks. Naruto yelped loudly and cursed him, beating frantically at his sleeve as an ember set it on fire.

Shikamaru yawned, completely unconcerned, (as usual) and stretched out onto his bedroll. From his place across the fire, Sasuke watched the blond out of the corner of his eye, and smirked. Somehow, the Uchiha managed to remain untouched by the flying sparks.

Naruto managed to stop the spread of flame. He held up his arm to look at the perfectly round burn hole in his orange jumpsuit. Then he straightened the arm to point an accusing finger at Shikamaru. "Damn it, you did that on purpose!"

Shikamaru just yawned. Sasuke's lips twitched again. "Idiot."

Naruto rounded on him. "You shut up! This is your fault too!"

Sasuke quirked an eyebrow.

"It is! My own teammates are trying to kill me! I don't even need to wait and get eaten by the monsters in this forest!"

From the ground, Shikamaru snorted at the idea, letting him know exactly how ridiculous he thought _that _suggestion was. Privately, Naruto agreed. This really was one of the most ridiculous missions he had ever been sent on. (Barring, of course, the Genin-level missions he had been forced to do. Finding some rich old woman's poodle wasn't exactly a useful application of ninja skills). And requiring three Chuunin was a waste of Konoha's resources.

The Hokage had received a complaint from a small village on the edge of the Moonshadow hills. There had been reports of strange sounds and monstrous creatures (none of which, it has to be noted, had been seen directly), and the villagers had sent for a ninja team to rid them of the danger. For some reason, Sasuke, Shikamaru, and Naruto had been sent, and they had so far spent a worthless three days combing the forested hills and finding nothing more dangerous than a couple of easily-spooked rabbits.

Their reception at the village itself hadn't exactly been friendly either. In fact, Naruto thought that the villagers themselves were a rather spineless bunch. Most had stayed locked securely in their houses, and only an elderly gentleman with beady eyes and stringy hair had ventured out to point them in the direction of the noises. Duty done, he had quickly scurried back inside, muttering to himself about "evil spirits" and "worthless looking ninja."

It hadn't exactly been encouraging, and frankly, the boys were beginning to think that the superstitious villagers were jumping at shadows.

With one last mournful look at his burnt sleeve, Naruto decided to drop it. It was too late – and he was too damned tired – to continue the fight with his teammates. Still grumbling, he dropped down into his sleeping bag, sparing one last glare for Sasuke (who had first watch) before he got comfortable.

The blond was just drifting off to sleep when a howl echoed through the woods. Battle adrenaline flooded his veins and he leapt to his feet, a kunai automatically appearing in each hand. Vaguely, he noticed that Shikamaru and Sasuke were in similar ready positions.

"What the hell is that?"

There was a tense moment as they all listened to the howl fade off into the distance, and then Shikamaru cocked his head to the side and suddenly relaxed. "So that's what it is."

"Huh?" Naruto asked, still tense and ready to fight, but Sasuke was nodding like he knew what was going on, and he was also returning to a more relaxed pose. Another howl answered the first, and the blond lowered his weapons uncertainly.

Shikamaru turned and gave him an amused look. "That noise belongs to mountain wolves. They're probably responsible for the spooky sounds the villagers heard."

"So shouldn't we go after them?"

The lazy ninja shook his head. "Ha, that would be troublesome, and also a complete waste of energy. Wolves don't bother humans. They're more frightened of us than we are of them. The villagers aren't in any danger."

"Oh," Naruto said with an understanding nod. Then he glanced at Sasuke, only to see the other boy frowning thoughtfully out into the trees.

"It's strange."

Shikamaru turned to look at him as well. "What's strange?"

"These villagers have lived outside these hills for generations. They should know what wolves sound like."

Shikamaru shrugged. "It's not the first time mass hysteria has made people act stupid and blow things out of proportion. All it takes is one person saying they saw a monster and suddenly everyone's seeing it behind every tree. Humans freak out easily. Still, it wouldn't hurt us to stay out here for another day. I wouldn't want those villagers to accuse us of not being thorough."

Sasuke shrugged, looking bored. But Naruto nodded enthusiastically. _He_ certainly didn't want to give those villagers an excuse to accuse them of anything. They did seem like an awfully paranoid bunch.

The boys settled down for the night, the howls fading off into the distance lulling them to sleep.

* * *

Sasuke went from deep sleep to complete wakefulness in a matter of seconds. They weren't alone, and he knew it instantly. Where was Shikamaru? It was his turn at watch. . .

His eyes swiftly sought out the other boy, a shadowy figure just barely seen with the light of the dying embers. He saw another shadow suddenly detach itself from the tree above their look out, but before he could shout a warning, Shikamaru voiced his own. "We're under attack!"

Indistinct figures swarmed from the surrounding forest, and in the dim light of the dying campfire, Sasuke was suddenly battling for his life. Something slashed at his midsection, and he dodged to the side, employing his fantastic speed to avoid getting disemboweled. He could hear Naruto yelling curses at their unseen attackers somewhere to his left, but Shikamaru was disturbingly quiet. Sasuke's night vision was good, but not good enough to make out more than indistinguishable shadows, and he certainly couldn't tell which, if any, was his dark-haired teammate.

Sasuke narrowly avoided another slash, than grunted in pain as the next hit got his shoulder. He could feel blood start to ooze sluggishly out of the wound, but he quickly put the injury to the back of his mind. Now was not the time to be thinking about pain, whatever he was fighting was nearly as fast as he was.

Naruto suddenly let out a cry that was cut off ominously in the middle. Sasuke risked a quick glance over to his left, but then flipped back swiftly as the enemy used his distraction to try and rip him down the middle. This was bad. Sasuke pushed his sudden worry for his teammate down with the pain of his injuries. If he let himself get distracted now none of them would survive. If the others were still alive . . .

Sasuke spun and kicked his unknown assailant hard in the stomach, sending the figure flying backwards and buying him a few precious seconds. The first thing he needed to do in order to have a chance was to get some light. Rolling along the ground at high speed he picked up a dry branch and then plunged it into the dying embers of their campfire.

Light flared from the burning torch in his hand.

Sasuke had a confused moment of sight. A woman, or what looked like one, materialized in front of him. On her face instead of skin, there appeared to be rough, ash-gray bark. Two black holes appeared were eyes should be, like someone had drilled a hole through the wood. Tangled green vines framed her face, and Sasuke had the sudden mystified impression that someone had grown a human being from the soil.

She lifted a hand to her mouth, there were thorns in place of fingernails, and blew something into Sasuke's face.

He choked, coughing violently as he accidentally inhaled. His vision grayed slightly around the edges, and he fell to the ground as all the tension involuntarily drained out of his limbs. The makeshift torch slipped from his grasp and landed a couple of feet away. By it's dying light he could see Naruto lying limply on the ground a couple of yards away. Sasuke couldn't tell whether or not he was still breathing, and then he couldn't see him at all as figures appeared from the shadows and surrounded his teammate.

If he hadn't been paralyzed, Sasuke's eyes would have widened. The creatures encircling Naruto, they weren't human. Monsters, all of them, as strange and terrifying as the tree lady had been. They seemed to be holding some kind of conversation, but the dark-haired ninja's hearing kept fizzing out, so he couldn't really tell what was going on.

Suddenly he heard a voice, it sounded far away and distorted, as if he was hearing it through water, but he could clearly understand what was said. "The blond child, bring him."

Sasuke watched as the monsters lifted Naruto, and then he lost consciousness.


	2. Chapter 1

All previous warnings and disclaimers apply.

Chapter 1 

Naruto's eyes opened and he blinked blearily upwards. There was what looked like a stone ceiling above him, and somehow that didn't seem right. His head felt funny, usually he woke up with all cylinders running, ready to leap out of bed and start his day, but he didn't feel that way now. His brain felt fuzzy, the last time he had come around like this he had been in the hospital. He craned his neck back so he could glance behind his head, and got an upside down look at a wrought iron headboard. That was weird, his own bed didn't have anything nearly so fancy. He frowned in puzzlement and turned his head to gaze at every other angle of the room. It wasn't someplace he recognized, and it certainly didn't appear to be Konoha's hospital. The walls, floor, and ceiling were all carefully carved into the featureless gray stone. Even some of the furniture seemed to be growing out of the ground, like someone had come in and chiseled a room out of a solid rock.

He didn't know a lot about carpentry or architecture, but it seemed like an awful lot of work to go to.

"So you're awake."

The voice was calm and cool, and unmistakably female. He bolted upright and stared towards the heavy stone door. He hadn't even heard it open, and now, what he saw walking through the doorway . . .

Naruto blinked, and then gawked helplessly.

The first creature to come into the room was short. Not short like Naruto was short, but short like . . . well, like Kiba had gotten Akamura to stand on his hind-legs short. His head would probably only come up to the blond ninja's stomach, and his face . . . it wasn't human. Beady eyes were close-set in the thin countenance, and his nose and ears were pointy and odd. His front teeth were too big for the tiny face, square and misshapen and protruding out grotesquely from the thin mouth. The overall effect was rodent-like, like this was what you'd get if you mated a rat and a human being together.

Then Naruto looked past the rat-creature . . . and promptly forgot about him.

It had clearly been this woman who had spoken. The blond stared helplessly at her, jaw dropping. It was a strange reaction, she wasn't nearly as odd looking as the small rat man, in fact, she appeared almost human. She was slender, and wore flowing robes of midnight blue. Glossy brown hair hung free down to her waist, and there was a small blue kanji symbol on her right cheek. From here Naruto couldn't read it, but he could tell that it matched her outfit. Really, she should have been beautiful, but when Naruto looked into her face . . .

Involuntarily, he shivered.

It was her eyes. Her head was turned towards him, but he couldn't tell if she was really looking at him or not. She had no pupils, but it wasn't like Hinata and Neji, who were all iris. Instead it was like there was . . . nothing. No, that wasn't true. It was like there was nothing but _space_. He could actually see tiny pinpoints of light floating in the blackness. Like behind her eyes, she held the entire universe. Naruto felt like he was falling into this open, empty space, and he hastily tore his gaze away.

Goosebumps pebbled up on his skin, and he realized that he was breathing hard, like he had just run a race. He glanced back at her, carefully avoiding her eyes and looking at her mouth instead. She smiled.

She also had very sharp teeth.

Naruto gulped.

Her smile widened, and she chuckled lightly. "My, you certainly seem energetic. Yasuo, would you please check his health?"

The rat-creature nodded and approached him hesitantly. He looked ready to scurry away at the first threatening move Naruto made. As for the blond, he was tempted to do a little scurrying away himself, but previously dormant survival instincts were screaming at him to Not Piss Off The Scary Lady, and for once, Naruto listened.

He suffered through a short, relatively painless (the rat-creature's tiny hands were _cold_) examination, and then the diminutive little being drew away to hide behind the woman's robes. "Well?" She asked, voice surprisingly gentle as she looked down at the timid creature.

Surprisingly the rat's voice was not at all squeaky, it was actually a bass rumble that had Naruto staring in shock. "He's fine. Kameko's powder doesn't appear to have any long term effects."

Naruto finally found his own voice. "So, not that I don't appreciate the check up, but what exactly are you planning to do with me?"

The woman smiled and suddenly began to glide forward, straight towards the bed and the blond on it. Naruto scrambled backwards instinctively until he hit the headboard. "I'm warning you lady, I'm Leaf Village's number one hyperactive ninja! You don't want to mess with me . . ."

He shut up abruptly as she sat on the bed and leaned over to put a hand on his stomach. He froze and stared at the hand, feeling like the touch was a lead weight holding him down. "From the first moment I saw you, I felt it." She smiled gently, and then bent down to whisper in his ear. "There's another being trapped inside you. Perhaps we should let him out?"

Naruto went cold at her words, and than started as the heavy door to the room slammed open. The woman stood up and took a step back. Then she spoke, voice detached. "Bring him."

A monstrously huge man loomed in front of him, and Naruto suddenly found himself thrown over a muscled shoulder. He let out a surprised cry and twisted frantically, but the grip around his waist and legs was like iron. He looked down and realized that the ground was very far away, and they were moving. He was carted off out the door and into a long hallway, carved from the same stone as the room he had woken up in. He struggled fruitlessly for several moments, before finally remembering that his hands were free. Quickly, he held them together and prepared to do a ninjutsu.

Before he could complete it, he felt a tap on his head. Concentration broken, Naruto looked up.

And a woman that resembled a tree more than a human being blew something into his face. _Damn it! Not again!_ Naruto thought frantically as his muscles instantly went lax. Now all he could do was hang limply from the giant's shoulder as he was hauled off.

The loud thud of a massive door opening let him know that they had reached another room. Unceremoniously, Naruto was slung off the huge guy's shoulder. He looked down and blinked. The room was filled with weird looking people. A child with snow-white skin, a man with two heads, even a woman with the bottom half of a snake. They were all gathered in a loose ring. As Naruto was carried forward he saw that on the floor inside the circle were strange symbols painted on the floor. In turn, these signs surrounded a stone slab raised horizontally off the ground.

The slab looked way too much like a sacrificial alter for Naruto's comfort.

There were murmurs as Naruto was carried through the crowd and he glanced up weakly to see a man with his hair on fire sneering at him. The man turned to the spindly creature beside him, and the ninja could clearly hear what he said. "That's him? Seems like Our Lady's going to a lot of work for one scrawny little child." The blond thought vaguely that maybe the man should worry more about the pending burn his head was about to experience and less about Naruto. And who the hell was he calling scrawny?

The giant carried Naruto to the stone slab and placed him on it. The way his head had fallen allowed the blond to look up, and he blinked helplessly as he got a good look at his bearer for the first time. The giant's head was grossly deformed, lumps of skin growing out at all angles. His left eye was almost buried in the protruding flesh.

Naruto struggled against his paralysis, willing his limbs to move, but they refused to obey him. He stared up again as an old woman with bat wings stepped forward to lean over him. She smiled a toothless grin, and crooned something that sounded like it was meant to be soothing, than she proceeded to undress him.

It wasn't long before Naruto was down to his boxers. His blue eyes were very wide and if he would have had the use of his vocal cords he would have been screaming about perverts. As it was, he could only stare helplessly as the scary lady stepped forward into the circle of symbols with him. Naruto could hear the shifting of fabric as the other creatures made a hasty retreat to the background.

This didn't look good.

Blue robes brushing gently against the stone floor, the woman walked to the first symbol on the ground. She planted her feet firmly, and then lifted her face to the sky, (or at least the ceiling, since they weren't exactly outdoors). She murmured something soft, something that felt like it was just on the edge of Naruto's hearing, and then . . .

She began to glow.

Black fire outlined her body, and when she stepped away, the symbol that she was standing on was shining the same color. She walked to the next mark, and then the next. The process was repeated until all nine symbols were blazing with dark fire. Then, still glowing, she walked to the center. Where Naruto was lying helpless on the stone slab. She kneeled beside him until she was hovering close over his prone body. Then she kissed the seal on his belly.

Naruto screamed. The same black fire that had lit all nine symbols was suddenly pouring from the woman's mouth onto his stomach, into his body, where it gleefully burned his insides. He screamed again and opened his eyes wide, the effects of the paralyzing powder suddenly negated by the power that was running through him. Naruto jerked convulsively, and as he turned his gaze to the ceiling, his eyes bled from blue, to red. The pupils elongated, and then shrunk back to their normal size, only to change again in the next second. The irises went red, blue, red, blue, then a strange purplish in-between color, then back to red.

His scream changed in pitch, roughening into a pained howl, turning into something inhuman.

Then the woman kissing his stomach suddenly bit him.

As her sharp teeth pierced his belly, instead of blood from the small wound, red chakra poured out. The energy danced wildly over them both, and as the last drained out, Naruto's eyes trickled back to blue and he suddenly went limp.

Gradually, the red chakra began to gather itself together, finally coalescing into a solid sphere. It hung in the air for a second, pulsing, waiting, and then . . .

It began to gain a form. The energy seemed to solidify, until a figure floated motionless in a protective cocoon of crimson. The chakra started to dissipate, and now the form could be clearly seen. It was a human man.

Sort of.

Red hair, short and spiky, framed sharply defined features. It was a handsome face, even marred by the three whisker-like slash marks on each cheek. At the tips of his fingers he had long, wicked claws that were crooked into a loose fist, as if even now he was ready to rend and tear something. Or, more appropriately, someone.

He floated in the air, body limp and seemingly unconscious, and then suddenly his eyes snapped wide open.

Red, with elongated pupils.

Then his mouth opened wide, displaying sharp, pointy canines, and he let out a howl. The shriek went on and on, the reverberation echoing and re-echoing down stone corridors, the strength of inhuman vocal cords giving it a force that was unbelievably painful to the ears of both human and other.

Then, it ended. The voice gave out abruptly, unable to withstand the strain, and it was as if all the creature's energy had been poured out with it. Eye lids didn't flutter shut so much as they slammed downwards like steel window shutters. The muscles went limp again, and, at the same time, whatever powerful force responsible for holding him up failed.

The unconscious figure hit the ground.

The Lady with the strange eyes looked from one comatose form to the other. Her head shook slowly, dark hair swaying gently against her robes with the movement. Strangely enough, she looked almost disappointed. "Oh my, now that was rather anti-climactic."

Around her, the other freaks and monsters nodded their heads in complete agreement.

* * *

Meanwhile, in a small clearing to the west, a dazzling beam of sunlight pierced through leafy branches. At the bottom of the tree, a pale, still figure was illuminated. The sparkling daylight made the form's fair skin seem to glow from within, and the dark hair framing the perfect face created a contrast that only made the picture that much more exquisite. It was Renaissance-style beautiful, as if at any moment a chorus of angels could be expected to ascend with one of their own to heaven.

And then this particular angel's eyes snapped open, and he swore, loudly.

From the tree above, a flock of birds were startled into taking flight.

An amused chuckle came from behind him. "Damn Sasuke, I thought you were going to sleep forever. Cha, you're lazier than me." Shikamaru sighed, the action vigorous enough that his whole body moved with it.

Sasuke grunted and rolled out of the painfully bright patch of sunlight. "You're still alive," he observed laconically.

The other ninja gave him a look. "Thanks for sounding like you care. Now all we have to do is find the orange-suited idiot."

Despite the harshness of the words, Sasuke could hear an undertone of worry. Dark eyes closed for a minute so he could concentrate on dredging up what he had seen right before losing consciousness. He was silent for a moment and then finally: "They took him."

Shikamaru frowned harder. "Who were they? I didn't see any faces last night, it was so damn dark, and then I was knocked out . . ." He rubbed the back of his head gingerly.

For the first time, Sasuke turned and looked at him. "Our monsters."

Shikamaru's eyes bugged slightly. "What?!"

The dark-haired ninja ignored him and hauled himself to his feet. Then he walked to the patch of ground where he had last seen Naruto. He studied the scuffmarks intently, then nodded to himself and began to walk east.

"Where are you going?"

Sasuke didn't stop, but he did speak over his shoulder. "They went this way."

Shikamaru sighed again, head drooping slightly. "I think this is going to be more trouble than it's worth."

But he followed after Sasuke anyway.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Light and shadow performed an intricate dance on the wall as the torches flickered. The very mobility of the flame suggested that the stonewalls weren't as solid as they looked, not if a draft had found its way in. Besides the soft pop and crackle of the torches, the room was very quiet. The only other sound in attendance required a straining of ears: soft breaths, a gentle inhalation, followed by a slightly more forceful exhalation.

And by listening even more closely, those with keen hearing would discern not one person breathing, but two.

On a bed bracketed by the flickering torches lay two figures. One was smaller with spiky blond hair, and the other was larger with hair very similar in style, though the color was red. They lay close, both curled on their side facing each other, though neither was quite touching. Eyes still closed, the smaller one murmured something and shifted, inching forward unconsciously, as if even in sleep he was seeking the other. He stilled, and for several minutes both figures lay motionless, breathing softly.

Then the bigger form stirred. Dark eyelashes fluttered and parted, revealing an elongated pupil slashing though an iris of pooling blood. The eyes focused slowly, staring without any real comprehension at the blond child sleeping inches away. Awareness came slowly, and heated confusion gradually replaced sleepy contentment. The little human looked familiar, but why? He didn't know many humans, only those that he had ripped apart or those that had . . . trapped . . . him . . .

A memory surfaced, a confusing plethora of darkness and rage. There were bars, not made out of metal or stone or anything physical, and on the other side there had been this boy.

The seal. His fleshy prison.

The Kyubi snarled. Legs gathering underneath himself, he loomed over the blond. Oh, he recognized him now, all right. This boy had taken away his freedom. He had been confined with nothing but this child and his own rage to keep him company. He would shred the human's skin, make a meal out of his intestines, and do all that he had not been able to do before. He _would_ be _free_.

He bent down over his unsuspecting prey, growling at such a low pitch that it was nearly inaudible to human ears. The fox demon's jaw opened as he hovered over Naruto's vulnerable throat.

Then he paused.

Kyubi stopped in confusion and sniffed the side of the boy's face. Strange. He didn't smell like prey.

The demon shifted suddenly. His body felt _wrong_, still strong, still fast, but not nearly as streamlined. He lifted a paw, and then stared. He still had claws, but the rest wasn't as it should be. His hand (for that's what it was) was fine-boned and flexible, not at all like the sturdy forepaw built for running and tearing that it had been. The Kyubi glanced up. On the far wall was a mirror, obvious and usefully placed, and so he got to his feet and padded over to it.

He stared in bewilderment. Then, experimentally, he snarled.

His reflection snarled back, proving that it was, indeed, his body.

He looked human.

The red-haired demon shivered. He felt so strange, so much softer, and weirdly smooth. Light hair dusted his arms and legs, not the thick protective fur he had come to expect, and he's standing on two legs, not four.

Only some things point to what he once was. The eyes, the teeth, three whisker-scars on each cheek, and the way his hair spikes in a way that suggests fur. It was _wrong_. Very, very wrong.

"It must feel strange."

The voice is melodious and female, and the fox-human whirls around with a snarl on his lips. Claws extend, and he gathers himself to leap, first instinct to attack.

She smiles, and he recoils. Not from the sharp teeth almost threateningly displayed, but from the sense of _power_. Her energy doesn't dance and fizzle like his or human chakra, it envelopes like shadow and darkness. His instincts flare up in warning. She's strong, and not the kind of strong that he can fight. She's beyond him.

The Kyubi takes a careful step back, unconsciously moving closer to the boy out cold on the bed. She turns her head slightly, so that it looks like she's regarding them both. "You've been trapped for a long time, and you probably expected freedom to feel different." She glides forward slowly, eyes blank star fields, before finally stopping in front of the bed. The fox-demon's lips curl back instinctively, and he suddenly has to fight the urge to spring forward and snatch the boy away from her. She's standing too close.

Her head turns, and it seems she's looking down at Naruto, studying him. Her lips curve slightly in something that stops just short of a smile. "I see you were both affected by your forced partnership." The fox-demon regards her wearily, than reluctantly shifts his attention to the boy, though he keeps one eye on her. His instincts are telling him to not turn his back.

Now that he looks closer, it seems that the smell isn't the only thing about the human that has changed. The whisker-scars on his cheeks look deeper, and when he sighs softly in sleep the edge of a fang peaks out. And his fingers have sprouted claws.

The Kyubi can't help but compare his new body to the boy's. Dark gold lashes flutter, and he suddenly wonders what color his eyes are now. Are they red like his? The fox-demon casts another wary look at the woman. She, obviously, knows things. For the first time, he speaks. "He smells like kindred." The demon's voice is rough and deep, and he surprises himself with the sound. It's strange how easily everything in this new body is coming to him. It's different, but he seems to have an instinctive knowledge of how it all works. He glares at her. "Why?"

The question could mean any number of things, and it probably does, but she takes it in regards to his previous statement. "Once demon," her head tilts back toward Naruto, "once human, and now both, and neither."

It's cryptic as hell, and the Kyubi takes an angry step forward, forgetting the danger for the moment. "What did you do to me?"

"Let you out. It's not my concern that what I let out isn't what went in." The last is said dismissively, and she flips her hair lightly and spins on her heel to the exit. Then she stops and pauses in the doorway, not bothering to turn around to face him. "You should be grateful. You're not as alone in this world as the rest of us." And with that parting shot, she leaves. The door slams behind her without her having to touch it at all.

The fox-demon lets out a frustrated noise and runs to the door, slamming his body against it. The frame shakes, and he knows that if he applied just a little more force he could easily break the damn thing down. There's just one problem.

That _woman_ is on the other side.

He's angry, but not enough to challenge someone with her power. He hasn't survived as long as he has (in various forms) by taking stupid chances.

Filled with heated energy, the Kyubi prowls around the room. He learns every niche and cranny, before finally turning back to the thing he's been trying to avoid.

The boy.

His prison. A symbol of everything that irritates him about humanity.

His kin.

Whatever else the woman is, she's not a liar, at least not about this. He can _feel_ that it's true. The boy, Naruto (he couldn't live inside someone for sixteen years without learning his name) was like him. He didn't really smell human anymore, or demon for that matter, but he smelled _familiar_.

Once again, he idly wonders what color the blonde's eyes are.

The fox-demon sends one last irritated glare at the door, and then he crawls up onto the bed. He settles himself comfortable, and then wraps an arm around the boy's body. He sighs softly, the breath of air stirring the wisps of blond at the base of Naruto's neck. Suddenly, the demon's tired. He snuggles a bit more firmly, than allows his eyelids to droop shot. For now, he'll lay low. The Kyubi's instincts tell him that answers will come to him if he just has patience.

And if there's one thing a fox does, it's always follow his instincts.

* * *

A furtive rattling noise wakes Naruto. Sleepily, he opens blurry eyes.

A familiar looking rat-creature is carefully setting down a tray of foodstuffs. The pointed nose jerks slightly and then quivers as he realizes he's being studied. Little feet scurry suddenly, and the creature bolts out of sight. Naruto can hear a door closing softly, telling him that the timid thing has left the room.

With single-minded focus, the blond stares at the tray of food. He's warm and comfortable, but something seems off. He feels like there's something he should remember, but . . . his stomach growls hungrily.

A deep, rumbling chuckle vibrates against his back.

Suddenly, he's aware of the body pressed up against his. His eyes widen. An alarmed shout escapes, and Naruto bolts from the bed, racing to the other side of the room with ninja speed and narrowly avoiding knocking over the tray of food. With the wall at his back, he turns and stares.

There's a strange naked man on the bed.

Naruto gawks, and suddenly, with a strange feeling of forbidding, glances down at his own body. All _he's_ wearing is a pair of orange boxers.

Okay, don't panic, so he's been sleeping, _almost_ as bare as the day he was born, with some strange guy. The blond scrunches up his face in concentration. _Rigght_, like he's not going to worry about this. And even worse, there are disturbing gaps in his memory. He can't remember how he got here, in this situation, with . . . _wait a minute, who is this guy?_

He turns and looks uncertainly. The redheaded man stretches, regarding Naruto lazily. He shifts slightly, the movement leaving certain parts indecently exposed, then he grins hugely.

Naruto's face is hot he's blushing so bad. Even someone as inexperienced as he can tell that _that_ wasn't an accident. Quickly, he averts his eyes, and then points a shaking finger. "Pervert!" His voice squeaks in a way it hasn't since puberty. "Just who the hell are you?!"

There's a deep chuckle from the bed. Naruto braves a quick glance. The man looks terribly amused, and then he suddenly jumps up, the movements fluid and entirely inhuman. He gracefully strides forward, deliberately stalking the boy, like a predator on the prowl for dinner. Naruto began to back away.

"You're eyes are blue."

The voice sent shivers up the blonde's spine, and Naruto replied defensively. "Yeah, what of it?"

The man didn't answer, just smiled secretly. "You don't recognize me?"

"I think I'd remember meeting someone as weird looking as you!"

The redhead chuckled, and Naruto backed away a little faster. "Not the brightest star in the sky, are you? I suppose that shouldn't surprise me, that's the impression I got before too. All bravado, no brains. Then again, in your defense, we've never talked quite like this before either."

Naruto was running out of room, a couple more steps and his back was going to hit the wall, and he'd be trapped. Looking around wildly, he saw the door on the other side of the room. Of course, to get to it, he'd have to pass the bed, and the creep stalking him . . .

The blond glared fiercely. "Weirdo! Stay over there you naked pervert!" Suddenly he launched himself across the bed, employing an extra burst of chakra to increase his speed.

He was moving fast, but the red-haired guy somehow moved faster.

Naruto was tackled on the bed, shrieking and swearing all the while. This guy wasn't just fast; he was strong.

Really strong.

Finally, he succeeded in pinning Naruto down. He loomed over the boy and grinned hugely. Naruto stared up at him, wide eyed. With this kind of proximity he could see every feature of the guy's face clearly. He gulped. "Wow, you've got some sharp teeth there. I bet you're a vegetarian, right?" The last is said hopefully. The toothy grin got wider, and he leaned down closer to the blond, and Naruto began to mumble. "Please be a vegetarian . . ."

The guy stops and looks at him. "Relax, I wouldn't eat you. As its been pointed out to me recently, that would be an awful lot like cannibalism."

Naruto blinked up at him. "Huh?" He said eloquently.

Strong, inhumanly strong, arms lift him from the bed. Naruto's surprised enough that he doesn't struggle, and by the time he remembers that he probably should they're standing in front of a mirror. "Look."

Naruto does.

Two people stand in the reflective surface, the taller one has a restraining arm around the blond one. Naruto looks closer, and sees that the creature behind him has claws. Involuntarily, his hand comes up and he blinks as he gets a good comparative look. His hand has claws too. Naruto stares at his own face. It's still him, but there are changes. The whisker-scars on his cheeks are deeper and wider, there are sharp, pointy fangs in his mouth, and his hair is even spikier than usual. His eyes are still blue, but if he looks carefully he can see that the pupil has changed, thinned and elongated.

His eyes fly to the creature holding him. Red eyes shift and meet his own, and then the head shifts downward to whisper in his ear. "Interesting similarities, don't you think?"

Suddenly, the arm around Naruto's waste tightens as the redhead swivels around. Seconds later, the door opens and in walks a woman. "Ah, both awake I see." Her voice is amused as she takes in their (rather compromising) position.

Naruto wiggles out of the strange guy's grasp, which has become a tiny bit looser with the inclusion of company. He's suddenly very much aware of his lack of clothing, and he quick snatches up a blanket from the bed, wrapping it around himself. He's blushing madly, but the other guy doesn't seem at all concerned with his nakedness.

After getting the blanket arranged to his satisfaction, Naruto turns and looks up. Accidentally, he catches the lady's eyes.

Drowning in dark star fields.

With a gasp, he wrenches his gaze away. Suddenly, all his memories come rushing back. "You're that freaky chick with the alter and stuff. You said . . ." Naruto's hand goes to his belly, and then his eyes shift to the red haired man in sudden comprehension. "And then you're . . ." He can't finish his sentence, too shocked by the realization.

The Kyubi grins widely and claps. "You mean you've finally figured it out?" He snorts in amusement. "Took you long enough."

Naruto stares, all wide eyes. This is the fox-demon? He doesn't really look like he would expect. Naruto had seen his form in his mind when he bullied the creature into borrowing him chakra. And this was definitely not it. Even stranger, Naruto's not afraid. Disturbed and wary, yes. Embarrased as hell from when the demon came on to him? Certainly. But he wasn't really afraid of him.

Keeping one suspicious eye on the fox, Naruto turns to look at the woman (though not into her eyes). "So then, who the hell are you?"

"Yes, I'd like to know that too."

Naruto shifts his gaze to the demon, confused. "You mean you don't know this lady? I thought she was an old buddy of yours or something."

The Kyubi snorts. "You really are an idiot."

Naruto bristles. "Am not! What am I supposed to think! She's the one that let you out!"

The fox decides to ignore this, even though the blond has a point. "Well woman, I think we deserve an explanation."

"You treat Our Lady with respect." The capitals in the title are obvious, and the huge, misshapen guy who steps out from behind the woman is even more obvious. Naruto wonders how he overlooked him before. It's the same guy that carried Naruto down the hallway, right before the nine-tailed fox and him were split.

Speaking of the fox, Naruto turns and looks at him. The demon is smiling nastily at the big man. "Why?" He asks insolently.

The huge guy steps toward him in an obvious threat, hefting a spiked club in his hands suggestively. The Lady halts his forward motion, simply by raising a hand. "Calm down Shale." She turns a pointy smile onto the fox, and then glides forward towards him.

The Kyubi takes several quick steps back. He hadn't even flinched when the big guy had started to advance, but this Lady was a different story. He's much more wary (afraid, really, if he's honest) of her. She notices the motion and stops, holding her hands out in a calming gesture.

"I just thought I could give you a tour. It would make explanations so much easier." She gestures to the door, obviously wanting them to precede her. But the Kyubi is still looking wary, and Naruto's looking vaguely horrified.

The blond is the one to speak up first. "I'm not going out like this!" He points to his blanket clad form, then points at the very nude fox-demon. "And he can't go out like that!"

The Kyubi gives Naruto a puzzled look. "Why not?"

The ninja's jaw drops. "Fox-pervert! You can't walk around without any clothes on!"

While the demon is scratching his head in continued confusion, the lady makes a mollifying gesture at Naruto. "Don't worry. Shale, would you please go find some clothes for these two?"

The misshapen head nods in quick agreement, though he continues to eye the boy and fox with distrust. "Yes Lady." He sends them one last suspicious look and then ambles out the door.

Thirty minutes later both of them are clothed decently, though the demon still seemed vaguely bewildered about the fuss. They follow the Lady and her giant minion up a bunch of stone steps. And up, and up. Naruto's feeling rather impatient by the time they reach the top.

The Lady leads them out onto what must be the roof. The stone underneath their feet is worn and weather scarred, the sun beats brightly down. Naruto squints and then stares. There is stone all around, just like in his room, but here in the outside environment it's dotted with lichen and moss. The rock seems to grow out of the hill, taking the forms of towers and roofs, a whole town carved into the vista. Barely, he can make out tiny figures going about their business, cooking, playing, and fighting. And if he looks harder he can see that none of these people are normal. There, three children are playing, one has frog-features, one has butterfly wings, and the last is covered head-to-toe in a featureless brown cloak. To his right and slightly below a women no taller than three feet is barbecuing something on an outside grill. A one-eyed man looks on.

It's the same all over. Some look more human than others, but they are all, unmistakably, different.

The Lady smiles, then she extends her arm out to the panorama around them. "Welcome, to Sanctuary."


	4. Chapter 3

**Warnings**: Yaoi, language and SPOILERS, or at least a spoiler for the later part of the series, as my beta pointed out to me. Sorry Willowbranch, I forgot you hadn't seen that far . . . oh the things my you put up with for me.

**Chapter 3**

"Sanctuary, huh?" The Fox smiled, a bright flash of teeth. His voice is amused and ever so faintly scoffing.

The Lady doesn't react to his tone. Instead, she turns her head to Naruto. "It's a place of safety, for those of us who are feared and hated, all because we're different. As you can see, there's more of us then you'd think. Here, those who are cast out can find a home." One of her pale hands rose gracefully to absently brush against the small kanji tattooed on her face.

Kyubi followed the gesture with sharp eyes, but for once stayed silent. Instead he shifted his gaze to Naruto. The boy was quiet, staring outwards, a light breeze ruffling his sun-bright hair. When he finally spoke, his voice was hushed and far away. "So many of them are kids. . ." Sky blue eyes fasten on the group of three children playing. As they watched, the frog-faced boy pounced on the girl with the butterfly wings, and the sound of their laughter drifted on the wind up to their ears.

"Yes." The Lady murmured. "Children hated for things they can't control."

They are silent for a moment, then the Kyubi's eyes narrowed as he stared at the woman. "Yeah, and I bet everyone of them has a sob story too." The glance he flicks over them both is dismissive, and the curve of his mouth is nasty.

Despite his attitude, the Lady's face remained as blank as her eyes. But the huge behemoth beside her isn't nearly so composed. For the second time that day he took an angry step toward the demon, hand fisted around his club with violent intent. Again the Lady has to lift her arm and hold him back. "Shale," she spoke quietly, and yet the tone is cold. "Go take a walk."

The deformed man stares at her and starts to protest. "But my Lady . . ."

"Do you think I can't protect myself from him?" Her voice is as expressionless as her pale features.

"No, of course not, but . . ."

"Then why are you still here?" Such an angry phrase should have been spoken with sarcasm, or at the very least mild annoyance, but from her mouth it was merely inquiring, almost polite.

The huge man knew better than to argue. With an awkward, jerky bow in her direction, he plodded off.

Alone now, the woman turned back to the fox-demon. "A sob story?" She murmured, answering the Kyubi's petulant little jab from earlier. "Yes." Her mouth twisted into a bitter parody of a smile. "I suppose everyone here does."

The demon scoffed. "So that's why you went to all that trouble to let me out? Wanted to add a couple more freaks to your collection?" From several feet away, Naruto turned and stared at the bitchy fox, sensing an angry tirade about to come on. "How did this happen anyway? When I went in I had fur." The demon reached up an angry hand and tugged almost viciously on his red hair. "And this hardly counts. Then there's the boy."

Kyubi took a couple of rapid steps toward Naruto, completely disregarding the blonde's instinctive step back, and grabbed his chin harshly. "Do you see this? The kid has _fangs_, not those leaf grazers he had before. You fucked with both of us."

The demon glares harshly at the Lady, completely disregarding the blonde's muffled protests as he tries to wrench his jaw free. Though he was soon reminded as those aforementioned fangs sunk angrily into the meaty flesh between thumb and pointer finger. With a shout, the demon let go.

"Fuck! You little bastard! You bit me!" The fox cradled his injured - though already healing - hand to his chest, staring murderously at the boy who had fortuitously already sprung back and away.

Naruto wiped his mouth and returned the glare. "Screw you, stupid fox-pervert! That's what you get for grabbing people!"

They both stared, seething lividly with identical expressions of outrage, the Lady completely forgotten for the moment. A breeze soothed over them, cooling the angry flush on Naruto's face but completely missing the hot glare. The fox stared, and gradually, his angry face began to morph into something distinctly predatory. Naruto caught the look and took a nervous step back, finally realizing that he might be in trouble.

Suddenly, Kyubi tore across the distance between them with Rock Lee-like speed and scooped up the blond boy. Naruto hissed and spit and wiggled but found himself firmly and expertly immobilized. To add insult to injury, the demon plopped himself down on the rock and pulled the struggling boy into his lap as if he were a misbehaving five-year old.

The fox looked back up at the Lady, unconcerned with his squirming lapful, and continued their conversation. "Well, answer me; what the fuck did you do to us?"

"I did nothing. I merely released you."

The demon's red eyes glittered. "Lying bitch! That doesn't explain this stinking human body!"

Her thin lips tightened with irritation. It was a small thing, but it was the first nuance of expression that the fox had seen cross that frozen face. "Don't be dense. How long have you been trapped inside that child?" She didn't wait for him to answer. "It's been long enough that your life energy has intermingled irreversibly."

The demon growled and tightened his hold on Naruto until the boy squeaked, reminding the fox to ease off a little. He was feeling belligerent and wanted someone to blame for his current predicament, but for all that he grudgingly admitted, (if only to himself), that she seemed to be telling the truth. However . . .

"I look more human," he spat, "then fox. If our energy got all tangled up equally than how did that happen?"

"Whoever said it was equal?"

The demon stiffened, and even Naruto stopped his wriggling to look up at her curiously.

Realizing she had a captive audience - literally in one case - she continued to explain. "The stronger personality guided your changes."

The Kyubi bristled, the fur on his head spiking even more in his fury. "Stronger? Hah! You stupid bitch! The brat's so weak that he's had to borrow chakra from _me_ just to stay _alive_!"

A look of outrage crossed Naruto's face. "Hey!"

"Strength isn't always measured in chakra."

The demonic red eyes narrowed. "I could still snap his neck like a twig." One clawed hand came up and caressed the struggling boy's throat.

The Lady smiled coolly. "But you won't." It wasn't a question.

Naruto didn't seem to be so confident in his safety. With a half-panicked, half-pissed off snarl, he reared forward and then smashed his head back into the demon's face. The Kyubi was taller, so instead of hitting the demon's nose – and breaking it – the back of Naruto's skull collided with his chin. Not nearly as damaging, but still painful.

The fox yelped and let go.

As Kyubi rubbed his bruised chin, Naruto swiftly put the Lady between them. Once safely behind her skirts – so to speak – the blond stuck out his tongue and blew a raspberry.

The fox-demon stared at the boy in outrage, still cradling his face. "Why you obnoxious little ninja brat . . ."

Naruto blinked. Ninja.

Shit. In all the excitement, he had forgotten to ask about Sasuke and Shikamaru. What if they were . . . he quickly turned to the Lady, not bothering to worry over the fox-demon. "Hey, scary-lady, what happened to those other two guys I was with?"

"What, you're asking about them now?"

Naruto ignored the demon and waited anxiously for the answer. He knew he probably should have been wondering this earlier, but whatever the Lady had done to get the fox out had left his head a bit scrambled. He felt sick. What would he do if they weren't okay?

"Your traveling companions are still alive. We were only there for you, and we don't kill people unless they are a threat to Sanctuary." Naruto let out a relieved breath, but then the Lady continued. "Of course, if they persist in looking for you, they'll have to die."

Naruto tensed. Double shit. Sasuke was probably pissed that he had been beaten. Most likely he'd come after them for no other reason than his injured pride. "You can't do that! Look, I'll go find him and then . . ."

Her cool voice interrupted him. "You shouldn't leave Sanctuary."

Naruto glared. "So what, I'm a prisoner here, is that it?"

The Lady sighed again. "You belong here. Do you think anyone's going to accept you out there? You're even more different than before."

Naruto clenched his fists, and was suddenly aware of sharp claws cutting into his palms. That was true, but, he'd always been different, and he'd been alone for the first twelve years of his life. But then came Iruka-sensei, followed closely by Kakashi and Sakura and Sasuke, and then finally other ninjas in his age group, people like Shikamaru, Hinata, and Kiba. He wasn't really alone anymore. He had found acceptance. Plus, the ninjas were a freaky bunch anyway. They might not even notice his new claws among the pupil-less eyes and bizarre getups already prevalent in Konoha.

His real problem had always been the shadow of the demon-fox. Naruto regarded the Kyubi out of the corner of his eye. What would they do once they had found out that the seal was broken? And Naruto wasn't exactly human himself anymore either. He was finally the monster the villagers accused him of being.

No, that was stupid. He may be all weird now, but _he_ hadn't been the one to almost destroy Konoha. _He_ wasn't the one who had killed Iruka-sensai's parents. The being who was responsible for that, the real object of everyone's hatred, was standing no more than twenty feet away from him, inspecting his claws as if bored.

So what was going through the Kyubi's head? Why hadn't he killed Naruto yet? And what would happen if he went off to do whatever demons did? Would he go on another massacre, or even worse, head back to get revenge on Konoha?

Naruto's lip firmed. No way, that wasn't happening. He hadn't chosen it, but like it or not, the fox-demon was his responsibility. It would probably be best if they did stick around here for now, where Naruto could keep an eye on him and keep him far away from Konoha. Hell, maybe he'd get lucky and he'd find a way to stuff the Kyubi back through the seal. He just had to keep the fox from doing anything demony, and of course he had to remember to keep his eyes peeled for Sasuke and keep the bastard from getting killed for sticking his nose where it didn't belong. Not exactly an easy job, but he was the village's number one hyperactive ninja, so he could do it, right? He stared at the fox, and the demon was starting to glare back, looking irritated – not that that was a new expression or anything.

"What are _you_ looking at, brat?"

Nope, not an easy job at all.

* * *

Sasuke landed cat-foot quiet on a branch and crouched suddenly. He moved his hands in a silent signal for Shikamaru to stop, and the other ninja came to rest beside him. Shikamaru sent him a brief questioning look, but knew better then to ask anything aloud. Sasuke's eyes bled to sharingan-red as he scanned the seemingly empty forest.

_There_. Sasuke narrowed his eyes and motioned for Shikamaru to look ahead and to their right. For a second, the other boy peered blankly into the forest before he was able to pick the figure out from the surroundings. His eyes widened and he turned to glance at Sasuke for confirmation, who nodded once. The forest camouflaged her, and it was no wonder. She could have been a tree grown into human form – bark skin and tangled leaves for hair. Sasuke recognized the one who had knocked him out before they had taken Naruto.

Shikamaru tapped his arm, and once he had the other boy's attention his hands moved in a quick succession of signals. Sasuke nodded once and leaped silently from the tree, preparing to circle around the near-camouflaged figure.

They may have lost the trail, but that wasn't the only way to find someone. Sasuke just hoped that Naruto would keep himself out of trouble until he got there to rescue the idiot.

* * *

Naruto leapt from stone formation to stone formation. His body felt light and fast, and he was just beginning to notice the he was stronger. It seemed that claws and a weird pupil weren't the only thing the perverted demon fox had gifted him with, though this was a damn bit more useful than the surface changes. Naruto felt like he could give both Rock Lee and Sasuke a run for their money in Taijutsu. The blond grinned and gloated briefly. He bet Sasuke was going to be _jealous_.

The blond was definitely in a good mood, and it wasn't just his enhanced abilities. He had managed to ditch the fox when the demon had gone to take a shower. He may have made a vow to stick close to the Kyubi, but Naruto had quickly found that that wasn't really necessary. Instead, the fox was perfectly happy to stick close to _him_. In fact, the demon had been downright clingy. Add to that the sheer numbers of sexual innuendos, and Naruto had begun to feel more than a little suffocated.

Hence the escape, and what a wonderful escape it was.

Naruto paused on a narrow spire of granite and glanced down curiously. Below him were the three kids he had noticed from earlier – the boy that resembled a frog, the girl with the butterfly wings, and the kid (at least he assumed it was a kid), swathed head to foot in a featureless brown cloak. The girl was waving cheerfully at him.

Grinning, he hopped down – a height that would previously shattered his ankle, ninja-training or no – and landed gracefully in front of the three children. The frog boy and the short brown figure shyly drew behind the girl, but she actually moved a couple of steps closer to him excitedly. "Hi!"

Naruto's grin got wider. "Hi," he had a soft spot for kids, and they in turn seemed to like him. Sakura had once mentioned it was probably because he was so immature himself. He hadn't actually been able to dispute that.

The girl bounced excitedly, wings gently flapping with the movement. "You're new here!"

"Yep. I'm Naruto."

"Cute name! I'm Kita, and these guys are Kouichi and Takahiro. She pointed first at the cloaked kid and then at the frog boy. She leaned closer to him conspiratorially. "I'm the leader."

"Are not!" The frog boy – Takahiro – seemed to forget his shyness as he hopped forward. "Who put you in charge?"

Kita stuck out her tongue. "The Lady did, so you had better listen to what I say."

"She did not! You're a liar!" Takahiro shouted, as Kouichi nodded his hooded head in agreement.

Kita's lower lip trembled. "You just take his side because you're both boys. It's not fair!" She looked up at Naruto imploringly. "You won't take their side, right?"

Naruto rubbed his head nervously. "Ah, I can't really take sides . . . I just got here, remember?"

"Oh, that's right!" She blinked up at him curiously. "Do you like it here?"

Naruto looked down at her. It wasn't the typical first question to ask. In Konoha, if someone new showed up, the question to ask would be where he or she was from. Of course, it made sense to avoid asking that if everyone here was trying to leave their past behind. "Um, yeah, it seems nice."

"Wanna play a game with us?" Kita peered up at him hopefully.

Naruto could hardly turn down that look, and so for the next half-an-hour they played something complicated that involved a lot of screaming and running around. The blond was careful not to use his newfound speed.

Naruto had just been tackled by Kouichi – and found that when the cloaked boy's sleeve blew up there didn't appear to be anything there, though he _felt_ like he was holding onto an arm – when he sensed someone watching him, and it wasn't one of the kids. The blond glanced up and locked eyes with a man leaning against one of the stone columns. The man sneered at him, and gave such a look of contempt that Naruto's fists clenched with the sudden almost overwhelming desire to punch him.

He had seen this man before, and Naruto racked his brains trying to remember where. It didn't seem like the guy should be all that easy to forget. Instead of hair, the sneering man had actual flame. It cracked and popped like a campfire as Naruto watched.

The kids had stopped to see what he was staring at, and once Kouichi had gotten a look at the man he ducked behind Naruto. The blonde's eyes narrowed further at this, and the fire-haired man's sneer got harder.

Their staring match was finally broken when a group of three others approached the fire-guy. The new arrivals were all tough looking too, and fire-hair shot one more sneer at Naruto before leading the group off.

When the group had cleared the corner, and Kouichi had stopped hiding behind him, Naruto turned to look at the kids. "Who's that guy?"

Kita shivered and grabbed Kouichi's gloved hand. "That's Mai. He's mean. We don't like him, do we Kouichi?"

The hooded head nodded in vehement agreement.

Naruto was just about to grill them further on the mysterious jerk when the Lady's behemoth of a bodyguard showed up. As soon as he appeared the kids squealed and mobbed him, with cries of "Shale" and "what did you bring me?"

The blond blinked and was surprised to see the lumpy man pull something from behind his back. Naruto drifted closer and looked at it, expression going curious as he saw it was a very complicated piece of origami, folded into the shape of an elephant. The delicate piece of paper was held incongruously gently in the big, brutish hands.

Kita squealed when she saw it, and her wings were flapping happily. The other two kids seem just as excited. The big man ponderously gave the little piece of paper art to Kita. "Go inside and get the paper out and you can make some," he instructed gently, in his big booming voice.

Kita cupped the elephant in her hands. "Shale, you'll show us how to make more? Please?"

He nodded slowly. "I will, and I'll show you how to make a butterfly too."

This obviously pleased the girl, because she grinned hugely and immediately grabbed Kouichi and Takahiro and began towing them away. "Bye Naruto! Thanks for playing with us!" The other two waved helplessly with their free hands.

"Bye!" Naruto called, and couldn't help but grin as they turned the corner. For a second he had been sharply reminded of a young Sakura towing an unwilling Sasuke and a thrilled Naruto around.

Realizing that the big guy was still standing there and making no move to follow the kids, Naruto turned and looked up. And up. He wanted to ask about the origami, but that's not what came out of his mouth. "So, you work for the Lady, huh? Just what exactly is her deal?"

Shale shot him a menacing look, at least Naruto thought it was supposed to be menacing. It was hard to be sure with all the extra bumps of skin on his face. "The Lady is a great being. She saved us all and continues to provide for us."

"Yeah, I get that, but what exactly is she?" Naruto got the worst goose bumps when she was around. Not many people made him that uneasy. If he was able to survive Sasuke's chilly personality so flippantly, there had to be more to her than just that stoic exterior.

The deformed man looked at him suspiciously, but then seemed to come to the decision that the blond didn't mean anything by it. He was just curious. "The Lady is the child of a kami and a demon, and neither side wants her. I think she makes them uneasy with her power."

Naruto's jaw dropped. Well, that explained the goose pimples. He'd never met someone who was half kami before, and add to that a demon side too . . . wow.

A familiar voice from above echoed Naruto's thoughts. "So that explains the power I sensed."

The blond groaned when he heard the voice of the Kyubi. Great, just when he thought he had gotten away . . .

The fox-demon jumped down from the same spire Naruto had perched on earlier, only his landing was even more graceful than the blonde's had been. Naruto turned to look at him, and gasped. It was a good thing the kids weren't around anymore.

"Fox-pervert! You can't just walk around outside like that! Where are your clothes?"

The naked demon looked at Naruto blankly. "I had them on earlier, but then I took a bath."

"You have to keep them on _all_ the time!"

The Kyubi looked puzzled. "Why? They're uncomfortable, and they restrict movement."

Naruto spluttered, and turned red with embarrasement.

The demon looked at him curiously. "Why are you turning colors? It looks funny."

* * *

Naruto wasn't sure how he had gotten the fox demon back to their room. He had a vague memory of telling the Lady's bodyguard that they would have to finish their conversation later, and then he had used a combination of threats and cajoling to get the shameless creature indoors. If only his pain had ended there. Now he had to convince the demon to put clothes on, though the Kyubi didn't seem to understand because _now_ they were indoors and hadn't Naruto said that he only had to wear clothes _out_doors?

"Look, I realize you used to have fur, but you don't now, and you have . . . parts . . . that shouldn't be just hanging around out in the open!"

The Kyubi looked down at himself. "What parts?"

Naruto flushed a painful shade of pink. Oh no, he was _not_ going to point out the 'parts' that they were discussing. "You know what I'm talking about, fox-pervert!"

Red eyes sparkled wickedly. "What? You mean these parts?" The demon reached down and fondled himself suggestively, grinning smugly at Naruto all the while.

"Fox-pervert!" The blond turned his back and blushed. "Just put some clothes on okay?"

Instead of following Naruto's orders, the demon walked up and nestled against the boy's back. Naruto stiffened, and suddenly remembered why it was a good idea to _not_ turn your back on a tricksy fox. "How about you let me explore this new body? And while I'm at it, I might as well examine yours too." The Kyubi leaned forward and breathed into his ear. "Just to compare, of course."

Naruto could hear the leer in the fox's voice, but for some unfathomable reason did not immediately bolt away. The demon was warm against his back, and he fit so well, like a part that was missing. Unconsciously, Naruto leaned back in to the heat, and Kyubi made a funny purring noise.

And something poked him in the small of his back.

Naruto screeched and vaulted to the other side of the room. "Fox-pervert!" Fuming, he turned to glare.

"What?" The demon idly scratched his chiseled stomach, and Naruto turned even redder as he realized that it had been the Kyubi's _finger_ that had poked him and not his . . .

Naruto smacked himself in the forehead. Over and over again. The demon watched him in confusion. "Just put some clothes on!"

Kyubi stared at him like he'd lost his mind.

The blond realized he was going to have to try a different tack. Obviously, decency and modesty weren't in the demon's vocabulary. "Look, clothes are useful."

The fox cocked his head with interest. "How so?"

Encouraged by this response, Naruto continued. "Well, they keep you warm when it's cold out."

"But I'm not cold."

"They do more than _that_!" Naruto racked his brain, trying to come up with an argument that the Kyubi would get. "They, ah, they let you carry stuff. Like weapons and things." Epiphany. Naruto grinned triumphantly, and warmed to his lecture. "Ninja's carry all sorts of useful stuff in their clothing. Like kunai and smoke bombs and even poison. Having clothes has saved my life more than once." Not really, it was what was _in_ those outfits that had done that, but for the sake of argument he was sticking with this. "It keeps things from being immediately visible. A lot of times, ninjas even were masks and stuff to keep their enemies from knowing who they are and coming after them later." Hah, take that logic, Fox-pervert.

The demon looked at him, and then spoke slowly, as if to a particularly stupid child. "But I'm not a ninja. And besides, I hate ninjas, why would I ever copy anything of theirs?"

"Jerk. I'm a ninja!" Naruto stared at him, and then turned to the wall and started to smack his head against the stone in time with each word. "Stupid. Fox. Just. Do. What. I. Say."

A clawed hand got between the blond head and the wall, and Naruto blinked when he hit flesh instead of stone. He twisted around to look at the demon, who was looking at him almost seriously. "I hate ninjas, but I don't hate you."

Naruto stared back. "Oh. Why?"

It was the demon's turn to blink. "What do you mean why?"

"You hate ninjas, you hate humans, and I'm both. You should hate me." Naruto was familiar with hate after all, though usually it was for other, fox-related reasons.

Kyubi looked taken aback. Then he bent forward and sniffed at Naruto's jaw line. "Funny, you don't smell human to me." He smirked and drew back to look into the boy's eyes, and then frowned when he saw the serious expression there.

"Yeah, so I'm not completely human anymore, I get what that Lady said, but just because I'm sort of like you . . . it doesn't mean anything."

"What do you mean?"

"Just because you're the same species as another, and I'm not completely sure we are anyway, it doesn't stop them from hating you. Believe me, I know."

Kyubi wasn't sure how the conversation had gotten so serious, but he could sense that the boy was suddenly vulnerable, and it brought out all of his protective instincts. He couldn't explain this even to himself, so he wasn't sure how he was supposed to explain it to the kid, but he knew it was important that he try. "I don't hate you. You are . . . what you are."

Naruto looked exasperated. "That doesn't make any sense."

"Yes it does, you just don't realize it yet. Look kid, why don't you hate me?"

"Don't call me kid, and who says I don't?" The blond stuck his lower lip out belligerently.

The fox smirked. "Me. I'd be able to smell it if you did. You're often angry at me, but you don't hate me. In fact, I don't think you hate, period."

"Of course I hate. There's lots of people I hate. All those bastards back at the village who gave me the cold shoulder."

"You didn't hate them, at least not for long. If you had, you wouldn't have turned out as ridiculously nice as you are. You aren't looking for revenge."

"I _hate_ that snake bastard, Orochimaru. He killed the Hokage, and the things he tried to do to Sasuke . . ."

Kyubi smiled. "All right, I'll give you that one. But you still don't hate me. I killed one of your precious Hokages, and it's because of me that so many villagers shun you. So why don't you hate me? You should have tried to kill me as soon as you realized who I am – and I do mean _tried_ – but you didn't, explain to me why."

Naruto stared at him, and his face was a riot of puzzlement. "I don't know. I guess . . . you weren't what I expected. I mean, you're a _jerk_, but you didn't try and kill me or anything." And Naruto felt _strange_ around the fox, like his body knew that this being belonged inside him. They had been together for sixteen years, and separate for only a couple of days. But Naruto wasn't going to tell the fox that.

The fox grinned and patted his head. "And you're such a _sweet_ kid. Don't worry about things so much. They are how they are." He bent down and put his face next to Naruto's miffed one. "You know, you're cute when you're all serious."

And just like that Naruto sensed their bout of serious conversation was over. Also, he couldn't help but notice that the stupid fox was still naked.

TBC . . .

**Author's Ramblings**: Thanks so much to all you nice people who have reviewed so far, it makes me feel very special. Also, particular thanks to Espi for pointing out my name spelling error, it's all fixed now, (I hope.)

Also, some people have been asking for more yaoi, and since your wish is my command, the next chapter will contain some lime/lemon. Hopefully it won't get me kicked of ff.net. Crossesfingers


	5. Chapter 4

**Warnings**: LIMEY, boys doing naughty things to other boys, move on if you no likey. Also, swearing and a wee bit of violence.

**Chapter 4**

Naruto awoke slowly. He was warm and comfortable, and perfectly happy to barrow back into the body heat that wrapped snugly around him like a blanket. With a soft exhalation his lids began to slide closed as he nestled back into the warmth. But as soon as his eyes shut, a frown slipped across his otherwise peaceful face.

_Wait a minute, body heat?_

Eyes blinking sleepily opened, he peered at what was wrapped so comfortably around him. _Pervert-fox_, he acknowledged drowsily. Somehow the demon had managed to inch his way across the big bed and cuddle the boy during the night. Though at least this time Kyubi wasn't completely naked. Naruto had managed to talk him into wearing a pair of soft pants to bed by simply threatening that the fox would sleep alone if he didn't put something on. Surprisingly, the demon had capitulated.

If Naruto had been more awake, he would probably have yelled and jumped to the far side of the room. As it was, he was comfortable and warm, and for once not willing to start a spat. Carefully, he started to untangle himself, freezing whenever the fox looked like he was going to wake up. Finally, he managed to free himself and began to drowsily scoot away, or at least that was the intention.

Instead, the demon made an unhappy noise and proceeded to roll right on top of his bedmate.

Naruto squeaked and blew strands of soft red hair out of his face. Fortunately, the way the fox was laying on him wasn't crushing him into the mattress. Legs were twined with his, but the body was rolled just slightly on its side, which kept the full weight off. Unfortunately, the only part of the fox's body that was fully against his was the demon's hips, and Naruto could feel that he was having good dreams. This time there was no mistaking exactly what was poking him.

This was a problem. If the fox woke up and found what position he had gotten Naruto in the blond would really be in trouble. Demons didn't exactly have any shame, and this one, he suspected, had even less than most.

Gingerly, Naruto began to attempt to dislodge the dead weight atop him. His hips shifted, and he inadvertently rubbed against the body above him. The fox murmured softly, and Naruto froze, staring up with wide eyes. _Please don't wake up_, he begged silently, now completely awake himself.

The demon made another soft noise, this one more of a groan, and then sleepily arched his lower body into Naruto's.

The blond barely held back another squeak. The fox paused for a minute, then murmured again before rhythmically grinding his erection into the boy beneath him. Naruto didn't know what to do. He couldn't imagine this being any worse if the demon was awake, but at the same time he couldn't stand to deal with the embarrassment that was sure to result.

Kyubi made another soft sound, and then drowsily lifted his head to nuzzle against Naruto's neck. The blonde's eyes widened in further horror when a particularly sharp thrust made him realize that now _he_ was getting hard. Not really much of a surprise there. After all, he _was_ a sixteen year old boy and it didn't exactly take all that much.

Naruto tried to squirm away, but all _that_ accomplished was to make the fox's movements more enthusiastic. The blond shivered as the Kyubi licked along his neck. It tickled, but somehow managed to coincide pleasantly with the sensation of thrusting hips. There were two layers between them in the form pajama bottoms, but somehow that wasn't doing anything to dampen the friction, if anything it was heightening it as cloth slid pleasantly against skin.

The fox was purring, a funny noise that vibrated against Naruto's jawbone and caused him to shiver harder. The blond was breathing hard now, sparks flying up his spine with each lunge of hips. He was beginning to forget exactly why he had been trying to get away. He was pinned down to the mattress anyway, it wasn't as if he could escape, and there was something about this very helplessness that caused the ache between his legs to increase. A hard thrust that hit all the right places caused the blond to let out an involuntary moan. Too late, the boy realized that the sound had been too loud.

The demon stopped nuzzling his neck and lifted his head, though his hips didn't stop their movement. Slitted red eyes peered down at him, glazed with passion, but otherwise very much awake. Naruto let out a tiny gasp, and then suddenly the friction became too much, his body seized suddenly, teetering on the edge, and then he was coming, hips jerking helplessly under the fox's continued motion.

Finally, the spasms stopped, and Naruto lay dazed, only vaguely aware as the Kyubi let out a low growl and came himself. The thrusting slowed, and then stopped. The fox stilled above the blond boy, arms coming up around him as his head flopped back into the crook of Naruto's neck. There, he let out a soft rumbling purr, the sound conveying whole hosts of satisfaction.

Naruto blinked lethargically at the ceiling, trying to recover and feeling a little like he had just slammed into a brick wall. It had all happened so fast, and his satiated and shocked mind could only focus on one thing.

"You were awake the entire time." He said, voice stunned and hoarse.

The demon purred in answer and snuggled further into the crook of his neck.

"What . . . just what the hell was that?"

Kyubi licked his neck.

"Stop that!" It tickled, and Naruto squirmed helplessly. The fox let out a happy purr and squirmed back. The blond was stunned to feel the demon's renewed interest brushing against his thigh. Naruto's eyes widened. "Oh no way in _hell_!" He violently shoved the fox off of him and rolled right off the bed. Kyubi made a grab for him, but missed, as Naruto dashed across the room. Or at least he attempted to dash, his legs were a little wobbly so he actually ended up stumbling to the wall. There, he turned around and glared, breathing hard, and opened his mouth to scream.

"_Pervert-fox_!" His mouth worked helplessly, but nothing immediately came out. Then: "I . . . you . . . what the hell were you . . . you stupid perverted-fox!"

Kyubi blinked indolently and lazily rolled over to look at Naruto. His expression was that of the cat who had gotten the cream, or maybe the fox who had caught the ninja. He yawned, and then pointedly looked at the wet spot on Naruto's pajama bottoms. "If I'm a perverted-fox, then does that make you a fox-pervert lover?" His satisfied grin displayed sharp teeth.

Naruto spluttered, and pink spots of color bloomed high in his cheeks. "You're the one who . . . oh come on! That wasn't _fair_!"

Kyubi's grin just got wider. "Demons aren't fair. Besides, you liked it."

Naruto blushed harder. "That's not the point!"

"It's not? It should be. This is part of your idiotic human upbringing again, isn't it?"

"_Yes_! And it's not idiotic! You're the one who's idiotic, stupid pervert-fox. Just what the hell were you thinking?"

Kyubi scowled. "Idiotic?" He hissed, in a low dangerous voice.

Naruto was too upset to stop at the warning sign. "Yeah! I mean, who said I wanted to do _that_ with _you_? You're a demon!"

The fox snarled. "Not as much as I'd like to be! And whose fault is that, little ninja boy?"

"Oh it's my fault now, huh? I knew I couldn't trust you, you stupid pervert-fox!"

"Yeah, it's your fault, you pathetic little weakling! You let those dumb humans push you around, no wonder they hated you. They knew they could get away with it!"

Something very much like hurt flashed across Naruto's face, but the demon was already up and moving to the door. "Where are you going?" The blond asked in a tight voice.

Kyubi snarled. "Away from you! I don't need some spineless little brat who thinks he's human preaching to me!" He slammed the door behind him so hard that the wood around the doorknob splintered.

Naruto stared blankly at the closed and beaten door, than gradually slid down the wall until he was sitting against it with his knees clasped close to his chest. "Oh," he said, voice small against the empty room.

* * *

Kyubi stormed through stone corridors, steps quick and agitated. _That stupid, stupid brat!_ He thought, seething. _I suppose that's what I get for consorting with an almost human. Any humanity is too much!_ He conveniently ignored the fact that now he was sort of human himself.

With a sudden snarl, he stepped to the side and punched the wall. The stone crumbled before his fist and for a second the whole corridor shook dangerously. He pulled his hand away, and with vindictive fulfillment inspected the two-foot deep crater in the wall.

"I can't imagine that was very satisfying," a voice suddenly echoed down the hall. "Wouldn't you rather break something that will bleed and scream instead?"

The demon whirled around, sharp teeth barred threateningly. He regarded the small group of creatures that had appeared with hostile contempt. "Yeah maybe, you volunteering?"

The spokesman stepped forward with an amused sneer. Kyubi took one look at him and grinned sharply. "Your head's on fire. Did you know?"

The flame creature's smile got even more unpleasant. "Amazingly astute of you," he said, expression irritated. "But we didn't come to listen to your amusing observations."

"Really? Hell, then why are you here?"

"We have a proposition for you."

The fox smirked. "Sorry, but I think I could find a sexier group than you bunch."

The fire-headed man sneered. "Fortunately, I'm not talking about that kind of proposition. Surely you don't want to be stuck in this stone rat hill while the humans have the run of the rest of the world?"

"Alright, I'm listening, just don't waste my time."

"Wouldn't dream of it. The Lady thinks we should hide from humans; that we should run in fear from them. Not all of us agree. We're stronger than they are. They should be hiding in fear from us." He smirked and glanced back at the other creatures. There were nods of agreement all around. "You must agree. They locked you away inside a pathetic human child. Surely you want revenge?"

The fox raised a red eyebrow. "So this is a coup? The natives are restless, is that it?"

"We like to refer to it as a little change in leadership."

"And you'll be the leader of this new regime, I take it?"

The man smiled wider. "Within reason, of course."

"I don't see the mistress taking this lying down."

"No, probably not. But we are prepared for her."

The demon guffawed. "You're _prepared_ for _her_? How the hell do you plan to kill something like the Lady? She'll eat you up and spit you out."

The man shook his head. "No, you misunderstand. We realize that we can't kill her. She is an immortal being. But we can contain her." He gestured behind him, and one of the creatures stepped forward with something held gingerly in his hand.

It was wrapped in think cloth, and the demon couldn't help but notice that it's holder was very careful not to touch it. Kyubi took one look at it and whistled, suddenly impressed. It was a length of chain, made of a strange shiny black metal. The whole length of it was inscribed deeply with obscure symbols. To the fox-demon's senses it was a black hole of energy suckage, the wards powerful enough to hold a kami. Or in this case, a half kami. "How the hell did you get something like that?"

"With a lot of hard work. I take it you're satisfied then?"

The demon shrugged. "If you can manage to get that on her."

"That's why we need you."

"Ah, of course. Afraid to handle the bitch yourself then?"

The fire-creature's nostrils flared with sudden rage, but then he seemed to get himself under control. "You're well suited for the task."

"What's in it for me?"

"Plenty. Freedom-real freedom- and power, and of course, the chance to get your revenge against that ninja village that trapped you. We'll even help you with that human-raised brat of yours."

The demon's eyes suddenly burned red, and he snarled. "You don't touch him, or I'll rip you all apart. He's mine."

The creatures seemed taken aback. Their spokesman made a quick, mollifying gesture. "Of course. He's all yours to do with as you please. Do we have a deal then?"

Kyubi calmed down as quickly as he had blown up. "Yeah, why the hell not? I'm always up for blood-soaked mayhem. I'm sure you'll supply me with lots of entertainment."

"Believe me, we plan to."

"Great. And so who can I say is so _generously_ helping me out?"

The fire-creature bowed mockingly. "You can call me Mai."

* * *

Sasuke crouched in front of the prisoner and studied her intently. She stared back at him, rough, bark covered face wooden in expression, though her eyes showed fear. She did have human eyes, contrary to his first impression of her on the dark night Naruto had been taken. But they were so deep set that unless you looked closely they appeared virtually non-existent.

She had been difficult to capture, and only Shikamaru's brilliant plan had let them succeed in the end. And now Sasuke planned to get some answers. "What did you do with Naruto?"

She just looked at him silently, not even twitching in her bindings.

There was a snort from behind Sasuke, and then suddenly a thrown kunai sliced inches away from green hair before slamming into the tree behind her. The threat was obvious. "You know," Shikamaru drawled lazily, "it wouldn't take much for us to turn you into firewood." He started forward threateningly, but was stopped when Sasuke gestured sharply for him to stand down. Shikamaru glanced with surprise at the dark-eyed ninja.

Sasuke looked at her silently, than began to speak quietly. "You and your friends could have killed all of us earlier. We were badly outnumbered, yet you only incapacitated. Why?"

The rough chin lifted, and when she spoke, her voice was soft and melodious. "We don't go around killing humans unless they threaten us first. We just want to be left alone."

Sasuke snorted. "Then you shouldn't have taken Naruto."

Her head ducked, and vines fell forward to shield her eyes from view. "We didn't hurt him."

"Why did you take him?"

She didn't look up. "Because he's like us."

Now it was Shikamaru's turn to snort, but Sasuke frowned. He was suddenly remembering a pair of red eyes peering at him from Orchimaru's giant snake, and there had been other instances of unexplainable strength that hadn't made sense at the time. He opened his mouth, planning to finally solve the mystery of Naruto, when Shikamaru suddenly hissed a warning. "We have company!"

Sasuke lunged forward and put a sharp edge to the girl's throat just as a group of four monsters appeared from the trees. The tallest one was spindly with unnaturally long, blade-like fingers. Next to him was a small creature with knobby blue skin and needle sharp teeth, and the last two resembled nothing but oversized turtles with wicked spikes protruding from their shells. Their faces all held varying degrees of contempt and hatred for the humans.

Sasuke tightened his arm around the tree-girl, and the blade dug into the bark around her neck. "Don't come any closer unless you want her to die," he warned.

The blue monster laughed, the sound shrill and inhuman. "Go ahead, it'll save us some trouble!"

The girl stiffened in shock. "What? Chin, what's going on?"

He smiled and shook his head. "Sorry Kameko, anyone who's as loyal to the Lady as you are won't be allowed to survive the next few days. It's revolution time, we're sick of that sanctimonious bitch making us hide from humans. We're taking control."

Kameko stared for a second in disbelief, then her eyes narrowed in sudden understanding. "Mai started this, didn't he? Look Chin, don't listen to him, he'll destroy us all!"

The little blue creature sighed. "No, the only ones who will be destroyed are those who go against us. The strongest of us are on his side. Sorry Kameko, but you'll have to die." A knobby arm lifted, and suddenly a chunk of dagger-sharp ice appeared in the air. The arm waved, and the piece of deadly white was abruptly speeding towards her.

Using his amazing speed, Sasuke barely managed to get them both out of the way. Instead of slicing them to pieces, the ice hit the tree behind where they had been. There was a loud cracking sound, and suddenly the tree was flash-froze from the inside out.

Sasuke cursed at the narrow escape.

Shikamaru was already moving, throwing kunai with exploding tags in the hopes of stopping the monsters where they stood. He was apparently only having limited success, so far all he had managed to do was injure one of the turtle-creatures a little.

Meanwhile Sasuke quickly cut through the bindings of his prisoner. "It looks like we have a common enemy."

"It seems so," she replied, as they barely managed to dodge another ice attack. "Look, these are some of the strongest people in Sanctuary, fighting them head on is not a good idea." They rolled to the side as another ice blade split the air.

"So what do you suggest?"

"Cover your mouth and follow my lead," she said urgently, and was suddenly throwing black powder at the ground. (Where it came from, Sasuke couldn't tell). From there, the powder billowed up and enclosed the clearing in a black acidic cloud. For the next couple of minutes all that could be heard was violent coughing, and then the gust of wind from another huge ice missile cleared the area.

The two ninjas and their ex-prisoner where gone.

The knobby blue creature hissed, displaying his needle teeth. "Kameko! Damn that bitch." He looked at his still coughing allies. "Come on, they'll be heading towards Sanctuary."

"Why would they go back there?" One of the others managed to gasp out.

"You think Kameko would abandon the Lady? And I bet those pretty little humans will follow her in order to find their lost friend."

"So what are we going to do?"

The little monster laughed. "What do you think, you big idiot? We'll wait, and then we'll kill them all."


	6. Chapter 5

**Important Note**: Due to the rating restrictions at ff.net, I decided that it would be pushing the envelope a little _too_ much to post my lemon here. To find the complete (re: smut-filled) chapter, feel free to head over to Adult Fanfiction.net: If you want the censored, (and much shorter,) version, continue reading.

**Chapter 5**

Kyubi walked down the stone halls after the meeting with Mai. He sneered when he thought of their impending take over. Pathetic. These creatures were just as bad as humans, annoyingly whiny, and complete cowards, sending him to do their dirty work. Not that the fox minded dirty work; it could be fun. If there was one thing he liked, it was chaos, and this promised plenty of that.

A door loomed into view, not just a door, _the_ door. Somehow, the fox didn't think the kid behind that door would be too happy with what he had agreed to do. Which was part of the reason we he was doing it. The brat would just have to accept that Kyubi wasn't ever going to become soft with pathetic human sentiment. In time, Naruto would learn what it meant to be demon.

The fox paused outside the door and stared with trepidation at the heavy wood. He reached forward to push it open, but then snatched his hand back as if the handle was covered in acid. He just knew the blond was waiting on the other side, and then he would just _nag. _He scowled terribly, and his clawed hand started to inch forward again. This was ridiculous; the boy just acted so fucking _human_, even though he wasn't anymore. Of course, the fox was barely a demon anymore either. It paused half way to its destination, but then Kyubi's lips firmed and he shoved it open with vicious force.

Any other door would have crashed into the stone wall dramatically, but this one was heavy enough that it came to a restful stop several inches from impact. The demon's show of temper was curbed, and though the fox glared at the door for ruining his moment, this quieter entrance turned out to be a good thing.

Naruto was not waiting, arms crossed, in the middle of the room so he could lay into the Kyubi. Instead, he was curled up on the bed. Curled up quite literally, his knees were pulled up to his chest, and instead of being under the boy's head as was proper, he had snuggled his body against the pillow, kind of as an impromptu security blanket.

The demon slunk to the bed on noiseless feet. Once there he stared down at the boy's face. Naruto's eyes were just a little too puffy and his nose was red, and when the fox bent closer he could smell salt.

An uncomfortable feeling grew in the demon's gut. Naruto had been crying? That didn't make any sense. Kyubi had been aware through all the boy's trials, (which explained how the demon had learned to act human). He knew that the boy hadn't cried anything but tears of joy since becoming a ninja. He had sniveled a lot when he was younger, always staring at the villager's backs, but then he had gotten tired of crying. The sealed demon had been privy to the vow; Naruto was not going to shed tears anymore, at least not because of the way people treated him.

But he had. The uncomfortable feeling in Kyubi's stomach swelled. Was this because of him? Gently, he reached down and stroked the blonde's face, cupping a tear-stained cheek.

Naruto wrinkled his nose and opened his eyes, suddenly instantly awake. Blue eyes fastened on the demon looming over his prone form. Looming, and _touching_ him. "Pervert-fox!" He screeched.

The demon blinked in surprise at the shriek, and then had to hastily withdraw his hand and dodge away as rapidly thrown _kunai_ targeted the area where he had been. One clipped a strand of red hair and the fox yelped as he heard it clang in the stone behind him. Desperately, he tried to submit his innocence. "I wasn't _doing_ anything, I swear!"

Naruto stood on the bed and tossed more pointy projectiles. "Yeah right! You always try to molest me in my sleep!"

"Wait I didn't . . . wait damn it!" The fox picked up a heavy wooden chair and held it as a shield. The throwing knives thudded into the seat, quivering as they struck, and lodging in the wood. "Stop!" Naruto stared at him and seethed, still holding a weapon in hand and pointed at him. "Look, I'll just stay over here, all right?" The boy glared at him suspiciously, and then cautiously lowered his knife. The fox stared wearily and then shook his head. "Where did you get those anyway?" He didn't remember the kid having weapons before.

"That big guy gave me my stuff back." Now that he was paying more attention Kyubi noticed that the blond had his orange pants back on, and his trademark jacket was thrown carelessly over another chair. The brat hadn't been kidding about using clothes to hide weapons.

The fox glanced back at the boy. Blue eyes met red, and they stared wearily at one another.

Crickets chirped.

Naruto grew uncomfortable with the silence first. "Look, I don't want to have sex with you," he blurted, and then blushed. Their argument from before seemed to be forgotten after all the excitement.

The demon cocked his head, expression warring between amusement and irritation. He settled on something in between. "Why not? You liked it and I liked it. Our bodies fit well together, but then we are the same species. Probably the only two like us."

"I just don't want to, okay?"

The fox studied him, and then grinned. "You're attached to someone else."

"What?"

"That dark boy. You know, the one with no personality. "Suseke or something."

Naruto stared at him for a moment incredulously. "Sasuke?! Are you out of your mind? Besides, how do you even know about him?"

"I was inside you, idiot. I'm mostly aware of what's going on in your life. Wasn't anything else _to_ pay attention to in the seal, and he always seemed to be around when I got close to the surface."

Naruto's mouth flapped, but nothing came out, allowing the fox to continue with his musings.

"I guess he's pretty enough, kind of psychotic though."

The blond finally managed to make his voice work. "And you're _not_?!"

"So you do want him. You've known that boy for a while, what's taking so long? If you want him, take him. Simple enough."

"That's not how things work!" Naruto paused as he realized how that sounded, and then: "I do _not_ like Sasuke!"

Kyubi ignored him. "Monogamy is a human concept, demons don't bother to limit themselves, why should we? Not that humans are always monogamous either. They may preach it, but from what I've seen it they certainly don't always practice it. You can have sex with me even if you do want to mate with Suseke."

"It's _Sasuke_, and I don't want to mate with him!"

"So we can have sex?"

"No!"

"Okay, we don't have to have sex." Naruto relaxed, and the demon took advantage of the lowered guard to pounce. He slammed the blond back into the bed, restraining his flailing limbs and quickly disarming him. It was disturbing how easy it was, but then Naruto wasn't really trying. "We can just play around a little."

"_What_?!" Naruto squirmed and cursed, and the demon found himself hard-pressed - no pun intended - to keep his hold on the wriggly kid.

"Would you _relax_?!" The demon hissed, pinning Naruto's arms above his head with one hand.

"If you get away from me, then I will relax!"

Kyubi snorted, and then grinned. "Don't worry about it, I'll _make_ you relax."

"Huh?" Naruto said, and then: "what are you doing?!" The demon's free hand slid down to his side and began to lightly poke him. The blond shrieked. "That tickles! Hey, stop . . ." unwillingly Naruto started to laugh, wiggling helplessly to get away from the tormenting fingers. "Don't do that . . ." He chortled and then squealed at a particularly wicked poke.

The fox was grinning wildly as he continued to tickle. "You going to behave now, brat?"

Naruto was shrieking with laughter, but around the fiendish tickling he managed to gasp out some words. "I . . . pervert-fox! You're mean!"

"That's not an answer." The demon set to tickling in earnest, and Naruto spent the next several minutes squirming and squealing with helpless mirth.

Finally, Kyubi figured that the blond had had enough. He took his hand from the ticklish sides and instead ran it through Naruto's spiky soft hair. The boy was still gasping for air in reaction from the extended laughter. He also seemed a lot less alarmed to be pinned underneath the fox-demon. Kyubi bit back a grin.

Naruto hiccupped helplessly. "Now look what (_hic_) you did (_hic_). It hurts my (_hic_) stomach."

"Hold your breath."

Naruto tried, but failed with a particularly violent spasm forcing him to breathe. Kyubi shook his head at the boy's helplessness. He bent down and covered the blonde's mouth with his own, and his tongue stabbed between the surprised lips in a sneak attack. He kissed him wetly and then drew back with a smug grin.

Naruto looked up at him, eyes gone wide. "What the hell was _that_?!"

"You're not hiccupping anymore are you?"

Naruto paused and took stock. It was true, but still. "You couldn't think of a better way to stop 'em?"

Kyubi chuckled low in his throat, giving the boy a patently patronizing glance. "You're so young."

"I am _not_!" The fox just looked at him. "I'm not!"

"Oh please, afraid of a little kissing. You're a baby."

"I am not afraid of a . . ."

"Prove it," the fox interrupted, teeth gleaming in their wicked grin.

Naruto glared. "I am _not_ falling for that, fox-pervert."

Kyubi gave him a look, and then let go of his hands. "Whatever you say, bratling." He rolled off the blond and started to get off the bed, shaking his head in amusement.

If the fox had continued to pin him down, they would have argued some more. Despite this, or rather _because_ of this, Naruto would not have given into the obvious taunts. Eventually, they would have both flounced off to opposite corners of the room to sulk. But if there was one thing the blond couldn't _stand_, it was being dismissed. With a sudden growl, Naruto grabbed the Kyubi's shoulder and yanked him backwards.

The following sequence of events couldn't have worked better if the fox had planned it.

Naruto planted a wet inexpert kiss on the demon's mouth. Not getting an immediate response from the surprised Kyubi, the blond growled and ate at closed lips, as if he was trying to put the demon back inside his stomach. Naruto then proceeded to push the fox back until _he_ could climb on top, where he continued his violent nipping.

Finally getting into the game, Kyubi parted his lips and drew the blonde's tongue into his mouth. They battled with tongues for almost a full minute before the fox managed to gentle the action into something resembling a kiss. A messy violent kiss, but a kiss still the same. The demon slid his hands along the blonde's spine until he reached his buttocks. There, he cupped his hands and gently pressed Naruto's hips into his. Naruto let out a surprised squawk at the action, and the fox immediately gentled his hold, hands light and caressing in an easily breakable hold, should the blond decide to end this. A couple more coaxing kisses - accentuated by an arousing roll of hips, that served to remind the boy of the pleasure inherent in their previous encounter - and Naruto relaxed again.

It took a lot of coaxing, and some well-timed manipulation – along with a healthy dose of teenage hormones – and the fox managed to have his way. In fact, Naruto was moaning and panting underneath him when . . .

Someone pounded on the door. Then, without waiting for an answer, shoved the heavy wood open. "Kyubi! Mai says it's time for you to . . ." The cat-like creature that had so rudely interrupted trailed off, staring at the unexpected sight before him.

Naruto glanced up. "Oh crap . . . stupid fox-pervert . . ." Then he was no longer capable of speech, audience or no audience.

The demon moaned, and then turned to glare at the intruder standing stunned in the doorway. He snarled, and a ball of pure chakra burst out of his body to slam into the interloper.

The force of the blast sent the creature careening back through the door, and another brief burst of power slammed the door behind him. Undettered by the interruption, Kyubi went back to Naruto. Soon he was groaning, and then went limp atop the blond.

Some minutes later, Naruto began to stir. He pulled his mashed face out of the covers and glanced toward the door, before carefully trying to wiggle out of the heavy weight atop him. The demon groaned again, and carefully pulled away. He then rolled over and threw an arm across his eyes.

Naruto continued to stare at the door. There was a noticeable dent in it from the force of Kyubi's chakra blast. The blond flushed red, and his jaw worked helplessly. "He . . . that guy . . . he _saw_ us!"

Kyubi sighed, and took his arm away from his face. He glanced over at Naruto who was frantically pulling a blanket around him to cover his nakedness. The fox sighed again.

They both glanced towards the door. Even through its heavy – though slightly askew – weight, they could hear someone arguing on the other side. Naruto clutched his blanket protectively and spoke imperiously to the fox. "Well, go see what they want!"

The demon looked at the blushing boy, and grumbled, realizing he wasn't going to get to enjoy his post-orgasmic haze. The kid could get _loud_ when he was embarrassed. With yet another sigh the fox proceeded to roll off the side of the bed.

On the other side of the door, the murmuring grew louder. Kyubi strode to the door. He supposed he could see what was so important that the annoying idiots had to interrupt him.

A loud screech from behind stopped him. "Clothes, pervert-fox! You can't answer the door like that!" Naruto squawked, cheeks pink with the thought of this becoming any more embarrassing, not that _that_ was possible.

Kyubi caught himself mid stride and stopped to yank a pair of pants off the floor. He was feeling generous, and he knew that if he didn't listen they'd probably never get to do this again. After pulling them on, he continued to the door and yanked it open.

The already abused door separated from its hinges and crashed to the floor. The fox shrugged and pushed the splintered wood out of his way.

On the other side of the door, a half-snake woman had joined the cat-creature. Her scales dragged against the ground as she straightened from where she had been holding a frantic conversation with the other being. They both stopped and looked at the demon uncertainly.

Kyubi snorted. "What do you want? Or do you just enjoy getting a free show?"

The cat-creature, who was favoring his left arm, flushed underneath the fur. "I . . . Mai says it's time."

"Oh he does, does he?" The demon sneered. "Christ, could the fire jackass have worse timing?"

"Time for what?"

The three turned and glanced at Naruto, who was still wrapped modestly in a sheet. He flushed in embarrassment, and then shook himself so he could continue to glare suspiciously at Kyubi. "Time for _what_?" He repeated.

Kyubi looked at him, sneer softening slightly. "Nothing you have to worry about," he said, with a dismissive flick of his fingers.

Naruto scowled. "Pervert-fox, you're a liar. What the hell are you up to?"

The cat-creature sniffed and scratched his injured arm. "Just a little regime change. We'll all be better off. No more hiding from humans."

Naruto stiffened. "What?! Oh like hell fox! You stay out of trouble!"

An irritated expression crossed Kyubi's face. "I'll do whatever I want brat. You stay here."

"Fuck you! You will not!" Naruto took a threatening step forward, and suddenly the fox moved, faster than a thought. He grabbed the blond by his waist and threw him headfirst at the bed.

The ninja managed to twist around midair and land on his feet. Naruto glared and got ready to launch himself at the fox again, but Kyubi was already walking out the door. "Hey kitty-cat and snake-lady. Make sure the brat stays in this room."

The woman glanced up, looking outraged. "We are not babysitters!"

Kyubi snorted. "You are what I say you are. And if you hurt him, I'll rip you apart once I'm done with the Lady. Be good, brat."

"Hey!" Naruto yelled, but the demon was already through the door and gone.

He looked at the two creatures blocking the doorway. His eyes narrowed, and suddenly chakra surrounded him in a bright orange aura. His hair crackled with the sudden influx of power.

"Hey, you two. Get out of my way."


	7. Chapter 6

All previous warnings and disclaimers apply**.**

****

**Chapter 6**

The setting sun painted the sky a brilliant, bloody red, and Kyubi looked at it with no small sense of irony. Around him, the shadows of rock spires lengthened, seeming to reach for the still figure that watched the brightness die in her solitary evening ritual. A breeze whistled amongst the stone and made her blue robes flutter.

"Demon," the Lady said, finally acknowledging his presence. "What have I done to gain your interest this time?" She called, not bothering to turn around.

The fox's lips twisted into a secretive little smile. He wasn't at all surprised that she had sensed his presence. His eyes flickered to the bloody horizon, and then again to her motionless back. "Just wondering what you find so fascinating in _that_," he mused, nodding his head to the sky even though she wasn't situated to actually see the gesture. Not that she needed to be.

The Lady was silent for a moment, then her hair spilled down her back in a silken cascade as she lifted her head. When she finally spoke, her voice was collected but quiet. "It's a blood filled sky, a portend of things to come. That is, if the wrong choices are made."

The demon-fox stiffened. Did she know? Or was it just a generalized warning to him? After all blood and demons usually went together tooth and claw.

He was looking at her warily when she spoke again. "You've been with the ninja child," she said abruptly.

Kyubi bristled, suspicious and suddenly inexplicably tense. "Yeah, what's it to you?"

Finally, she deigned to turn and look at him, and he settled his gaze on her mouth, as he didn't dare stare into her bottomless eyes. The Lady seemed to study him, and then she sighed, a soft exhalation of weary breath. "Just be aware that you can't keep him. He's strong and stubborn, and very much tied to the human world."

The demon snorted. "Fickle woman, aren't you? Before, weren't you preaching about how the brat belonged here? With all us freaks?"

"I've realized that that will prove impossible." Again, she glanced briefly at the sliver of red sinking behind the horizon. "If you don't want to lose him forever, you'll have to let him go. At least for now."

"What, can you see the future or something?"

The corner of her lip twitched as she answered him. "Only sometimes."

"Then did you see this coming, you bossy bitch?"

The voice came from behind them, though neither Lady nor demon seemed surprised by its presence. The speaker was Mai, usual sneer pasted comfortably to his face, though this time the expression was edged in anticipation. Fanning out behind him was a large number of other creatures. Both the Lady and the fox-demon turned to look at the approaching group, one face unreadable, and the other bored. Kyubi lazily buffed his claws on his pants. "You're early," he muttered, not really sounding like he cared all that much.

The Lady ignored the demon, and instead answered Mai's insolent quip. "I suspected your lust for power would overcome your good sense." There were no questions about what was going on. She knew very well what he was up to, though Kyubi couldn't tell if she had just figured it out now or had somehow known in advance.

Mai's sneer got sharper. "Your confidence is misplaced."

Her lips quirked, almost bemusedly. "Oh really?"

Kyubi's skin broke out in goosebumps.

The breeze that had been lightly blowing around them abruptly died, and the air became unnaturally still as if the sky itself was holding its breath. Suddenly, black energy appeared around the Lady, swirling and pulsing in a way that caused short hairs to prickle almost painfully. Dark tendrils shot up from her body and hit the sky, spreading and growing until the setting sun was swallowed into premature night.

The creatures broke out into frightened murmuring, but Mai made a quick gesture with his hand. A scaled man stepped out of the shadows behind Kyubi and gingerly handed him something. The other creature seemed unable to touch it, but the Kyubi didn't have the same problem, as long as he stayed away from the interior. The fox-demon looked down at the object, and grinned. Mai's voice broke through the darkness in a sudden urgent hiss. "Quick, stop her before she finishes powering up!"

Kyubi was already moving.

Unnatural speed spurred him toward her in the blink of an eye. Still, she sensed his movement and a spear of dark energy left the aura around her to shoot towards him. The fox barely managed to dodge. He felt the darkness brush past his hair, leaving behind a frozen cold that caused his heart to skip a beat. If that had touched him, he suddenly knew, it would have been his utter, and probably painful, destruction.

He sent his own energy blast, the color red instead of black. It was stopped by her aura, of course, but it gave the fox the split second he needed to toss the chains with complete accuracy at her uplifted hands. Kyubi darted away, just in case things didn't work out. But he needn't have worried. Like there was a magnet guiding them, the manacles slid around her wrists and suddenly clamped down.

The aura around the Lady vanished, and the blackness over the sky dissipated as if it had never been, revealing a sliver of red on the horizon. All this had taken place before the sun could even finish setting. The Lady sagged suddenly, bent over like an old woman with the metaphysical weight of the manacles.

There was a moment of silence, as everyone stared at her wearily, not quite sure if she had really been rendered harmless. Then Mai, sneer in place, stepped forward. "I told you you're confidence was misplaced," he said to the Lady. She tried to lift her head, but the weight was too much for her, and she drooped forward again, back bent painfully.

Kyubi eyed the sky as the sun finally finished setting. "Now that was fun," he declared.

The dying light was echoed bloodily in his eyes.

* * *

Naruto growled, canines lengthening. "I said, move! You two deaf or something?!" Narrowed blue eyes glared, and the powerful chakra aura enveloping him pulsed with the angry beat of blood through his veins.

The snake-woman stared, and then licked her lips nervously. "He told us not to let you leave." She said, voice faltering. She exchanged a brief glance with the cat-creature in a couple of seconds of wordless commune. Then, seemingly reassured by the presence of the other, they both turned back towards Naruto with aggressive stances. It seemed that they had decided that they were more frightened of the Kyubi then this kid. Even if he was currently crackling with violent energy.

Naruto snarled. Big mistake.

Naruto moved, so blindingly fast that the chakra aura still swirling around him made him resemble a mutant firefly. He appeared behind the cat-creature, and it turned and slashed at him with its good arm. Naruto ducked it, easily, and then sent his fist barreling into its face. The punch landed just under its jaw and caused the creature to fly all the way across the room. It slammed into the opposite wall with such force that cracks actually appeared in the stone.

Blue eyes flickered briefly to the left, and then Naruto was moving again. Leaping out of the way as the snake-woman used her muscular tail to smash into the ground where he had just been. Here, cracks also appeared in the floor with the impact, and Naruto spared half a second to worry about the structural soundness of the room.

The woman slithered across the floor after him, fangs bared and dripping with some kind of acidic venom; when it dripped on the floor it sizzled and left pint sized holes in its wake. She spared a moment to toss the bed at him, and as Naruto dodged it, he suddenly found her tail crashing towards him again in a pincer move. This time, there was no way to avoid it.

His surrounding chakra suddenly coalesced in front of him, forming an impermeable barrier that deflected the crushing tail. Naruto sprang upwards from behind the barrier. Quickly, he put his hands together in a seal. "Kage bunshin no jutsu!"

Fifty glowing clones suddenly flooded the room, and the snake sent her tail out in a wide arc, taking some of the Naruto look-alikes down. Still, there was many more where that came from, and she was soon overwhelmed. The snake-woman joined the cat-creature in unconsciousness on the floor.

There was a brief commotion as all the Naruto's high fived each other and whooped in triumph. Then one of them shouted: "That's enough already! I've got things to do!"

The clones all vanished with a soft pop of displaced air, and after the smoke had cleared, Naruto took one last brief glance at his vanquished opponents. "I did tell you to move." He said, smirking broadly.

Then he turned around and quickly vanished out the door. He had a demon to stop.

* * *

Sasuke, Shikamaru, and Kameko crouched behind a rock spire, watching the turmoil below them. Some of the populace of Sanctuary were in chains, others were being cowed into submission by the aggressive usurpers. Kameko's wooden hand clenched into a tight fist as she watched. "They're scared," she whispered to the two ninjas. "They'll go along with it, not because they agree, but because they're afraid for themselves and their families. If the Lady _herself_ has been taken out, then they're going to feel like there's nothing they can do. Without her protection . . ." She shook her head angrily.

"We need to come up with a plan," Shikamaru said, laziness gone from his eyes as they narrowed in calculation.

"First we need to get Naruto."

Shikamaru shot Sasuke a brief look. "Obviously."

A shouted roar caught their attention. A huge man, made twisted and deformed by oddly placed lumps of flesh, was desperately fighting his captors. As they watched, he hit one and sent him sailing halfway across the courtyard. "Just kill him already!" One of the creatures ordered the others.

"Shale!" Kameko hissed, suddenly leaping from their hiding place.

"Wait!" Shikamaru said, and then swore as she ignored him and sprinted down to help the struggling man. He exchanged a brief, frustrated glance with Sasuke, (though really, Sasuke had a strange gleam in his eyes that made Shikamaru think he was anticipating the fight a little _too_ much), and then they jumped down to help her.

And the battle was joined.

Kameko used her sleeping powder and poisonous nettles to free the big man, while Sasuke and Shikamaru fought the others and freed more of the prisoners. Those freed immediately joined the fight, and seeing this caused some of those who had been previously cowed to also jump into the fray. And for a second, it seemed like they were winning.

Until a huge ice missile hit a group of the Lady's supporters and froze them solid.

Kameko turned quickly, and then cursed. "Chin, you bastard!"

The little blue creature laughed shrilly. "Ah, Kameko, so predictable. You should have run when you had the chance. But instead you just had to come back here. How stupid." Another shard of ice appeared in the air before him, and he gestured lazily at the three creatures behind him. "Kill all who oppose us," he said, and then laughed as the ice missile suddenly shot through the air.

They scattered, and the frozen projectile hit the ground where they had been. The intense cold caused cracks to appear in the ground, and then froze them over in the same instant with a sheet of hard ice.

Sasuke dodged the ice, and then suddenly found himself dodging again as the creature with the blade-like fingers took a swipe at him. It was fast, as fast as he was, and Sasuke quickly realized he was going to have to pull out all the stops if he wanted to survive. Which meant his ultimate technique, but it required some time, and his opponent wasn't giving him any of that.

Suddenly, the creature froze and let out a frustrated cry, and Sasuke followed its gaze downward to see the shadow holding it in place. From the other side of the shadow, Shikamaru shouted. "Sasuke! Quick, do it!"

The dark-haired ninja didn't need any more reminders. In a blink of an eye, he settled on the side of a wall and grabbed his wrist, momentarily out of the direct battle. Chakra began to gather visibly in his hand, and a loud sound, like a thousand birds chirping, suddenly drowned out the sound of fighting. When the energy got bright enough, Sasuke took off down the side of the wall and back to his opponent.

Shikamaru prudently chose that moment to withdraw his Kagemane no Jutsu, just as Sasuke hit the creature and pulverized it with his chidori. The blade-handed thing hadn't been all that tough, so with the extra energy from his technique, Sasuke also took out one of the armored turtle creatures that had accompanied Chin.

The chidori dissipated, and the second turtle creature suddenly roared and sent spikes flying through the air towards him. Sasuke dodged, but still got nailed as one thick spike suddenly lodged painfully in his shoulder. He landed with a grunt of pain besides Kameko, who was pulling uselessly at her left leg where it had been frozen to the ground. Several deep cuts on her body oozed sap, and Sasuke sent one brief glance over her to survey the damage.

He turned his attention back to the second turtle-creature, and suddenly tensed as he watched it retreat. He glanced up further and suddenly cursed as a shrill laugh echoed through the courtyard. An ice missile, big enough to blot out the moon above them, was floating in the air, just waiting to be let go. "Just try to dodge this!" The little blue creature cackled, and let it fly.

Sasuke stilled. Not even _he_ would be able to get far enough away in time to duck it. Chin was going to take out all of his opponents – and some of his allies – in one frozen swoop. They were all going to die.

"Kage bunshin no jutsu!"

Orange chakra flared suddenly, so blinding that Sasuke had to shut his eyes. An army of blondes got between them and the ice missile, all glowing with intense energy. There were some "poofs" as the ice plowed among them, but the intense chakra beat against the missile, and before it could get very far . . .

It shattered into a million glittering shards.

The knobby blue creature's jaw dropped. The expression on his face was rather comical, though brief.

"Take _this_, jerk!" The shout came, with the voice of a thousand Narutos. About a hundred clones dog-piled on the tiny villain, and a sudden flash of white light came from within the clump.

The Narutos nearest the center popped with a burst of jutsu-smoke, and the others jumped away, looking smug. The reason for the smugness became apparent once the smoke cleared. Chin's last brief flash of power had iced him to the ground. His needle-toothed mouth was open in a literally frozen scream, and as they watched, the pasty blue-white skin along his neck cracked with the splintering of ice, and his head fell off and rolled across the ground.

There was a pause.

Then, an abrupt babble of voices as the rest of the rebels began to surrender.

A few minutes later, once it appeared that the Lady's supporters had everything under control, there was a loud "poof" that left only one Naruto. With a grin, the blonde boy waltzed over to Sasuke and Shikamaru, who were standing by Kameko as one of the other creatures burned through the ice to get her leg free. "Did you miss me?" He asked, voice chipper.

Shikamaru snorted with a brief burst of laughter, and then covered his mouth in a sudden yawn. "Sa, so much trouble."

Naruto wrinkled his nose and then looked at Sasuke, who was staring at him with an unreadable look in his Sharingan-tinted eyes. They gazed at each other for almost a full minute, until Naruto began to fidget. Suddenly, the dark-haired boy reached forward and grabbed his chin. "Dobe," he muttered, studying the blonde curiously. His other hand reached up and pushed back Naruto's lip so he could get a look at the fangs. "Hm. What happened to you?"

Naruto pulled his head away with a jerk, and stared at Sasuke, half in challenge, half in fear. He stiffened his back and glared. "I'm _different_," he blustered.

One dark eyebrow lifted. "You've always been _different_, idiot. And _loud_. And _annoying_. Where'd you get the power, dobe?"

Naruto stared at him, uncharacteristically at a loss.

Sasuke shook his head. "I've seen this before, but it changed this time." The blonde could feel the sharingan studying him. "It's a permanent part of you now."

Naruto took a fortifying breath and suddenly lifted his head. "Yeah, well, I'm not completely human any more." Blue eyes narrowed, and spoke with forced flippantness. "I had a demon inside of me that gave me power sometimes, when I was in trouble. Now the demon-fox is out and looking humanish, and he apparently changed me on the way. Want to make something of it?" He glared at Sasuke challengingly.

"The demon-fox," Shikamaru interrupted, musing. "I get it. The nine-tailed fox demon that attacked the village all those years before. They sealed it in you." Once again, the lazy boy's brilliant mind had made the connection before anybody else. Then he frowned. "Wait a minute, he's out?"

Naruto ignored Shikamaru and continued to watch Sasuke's eyes wearily. Suddenly, the other ninja's eyes narrowed and his hand shot out to grab the blonde's chin again. Naruto barely managed to control a flinch. Then, surprisingly, Sasuke forcibly turned his head to the side and gently touched the side of his neck. "Where'd you get this?" He said suddenly, eyes narrowing in suspicion.

"What . . ." Naruto began, only to be interrupted by Shikamaru's surprised exclamation.

"Is that a hickey?"

Naruto suddenly blushed in mortification, and once again yanked his head away from Sasuke. "Didn't you hear what I said? I'm part demon!"

Sasuke was still glaring at his neck. "_So_. _What_." Then abruptly, "who touched you?"

Kameko suddenly shoved between them, dragging her injured leg slightly. Naruto had never been so happy for an interruption in his life. He could have kissed her, if not for the fact that it would probably set Sasuke off again. Naruto very deliberately did not think about _why_ it would set the dark-haired ninja off. "Look, this isn't over yet. Mai and his goons still have the Lady, and I hear that the fox-demon is helping them."

Naruto looked at her. "Kyubi?" He frowned. "Yeah, I figured pervert-fox was doing something stupid." He turned to Shikamaru and Sasuke-of-the-glaring-eyes. "He's my responsibility. I've gotta stop him." A moment of uncertainty flittered through his blue eyes, but then his lip firmed. "One way or another."

"A lot of us are injured badly," Kameko said, gesturing at her bum leg. Then she glanced bleakly at the frozen bodies still incased in Chin's ice. "Or dead. But everyone who isn't is setting out to free the Lady. Will you help us?" This was directed at Shikamaru and Sasuke, as Naruto had already stated his position rather clearly.

Shikamaru sighed wearily. "Ah, why not? I suppose we _are_ on a mission."

Sasuke continued staring at Naruto with narrowed eyes. "Yeah," he suddenly drawled. "I think we should meet this _pervert-fox_ of yours." Sasuke had put two and two together, and come up with four, or rather, with fox.

Naruto looked at his glaring teammate, and gulped.

TBC

**Author's Notes**: Oh my, there are so many! Okay, first off, some of you may be wondering why the boys don't have any new or more powerful techniques at this age. The reason for this is because this story is a TWT (Timeline? What timeline?). And I don't like how old they are in the series (they're _babies_ for goodness sakes!) so I'm moving ages up just because I _can_. Otherwise, they still know all their old techniques.

Also, Naruto's chakra and its effect on things like Chin's ice missile is a result of his demon mixed heritage. It's protecting him instinctively, kind of like Gaara's sand, only not as extreme. The rest you can probably figure out.

And yay! PlotLemmingBreeder made me fanart of Kyubi and Naruto! Head on over to take a peek, go to www. fanfiction. net profile.php?userid = 250813 (just take out the spaces) and click on her homepage. The picture is titled **Trouble With Guardians**. Hopefully, deviantart will allow us all to access it, if not, go back later.

All that's left to this story is one chapter and an epilogue. I'll be posting them both no later than one week from now. Thanks for reading!


	8. Chapter 7

**Warnings**: Violence and language. All prior disclaimers apply. 

**Chapter 7 **

Kyubi leaned against a wall and yawned, completely bored. The stone was rough against his back, and he idly twisted against it in order to scratch the itch that had developed on his shoulder blade. He lazily surveyed the room. There was Mai off to the side, gesturing curtly and giving orders to a scaly winged creature. Kyubi yawned again, not at all impressed. Giving orders was all the flaming annoyance seemed to do.

The fox's keen ears caught the sound of fighting outside, but none of it touched them in here. Of course, the demon _could_ go out and join in, but he didn't really care to help Mai with anything else. Plus, the rebellion had already neutralized the strong supporters of the Lady; all that was left was those weak and/or easily cowed.

Boring.

It would almost be more fun to fight Mai's people, or the man himself. Kyubi couldn't read his energy levels enough to figure out how strong he actually was. It might be fun to find out. He toyed with the idea for a minute, than decided that he was feeling too lazy to start _that_ right now. Plus, Naruto was still in Sanctuary, and Mai would be sure to take out any irritation from the fox-demon onto him. Restraint was a foreign feeling to Kyubi, and he mulled it over for a second. He was sure it was another side effect from the brat; another bizarre human convention. Maybe he would go see the boy now, he could see how much trouble Naruto had given the babysitters.

That is, if the brat hadn't managed to escape them. Kyubi hadn't really considered that option before, and he tilted his head up to consider. The kid was a lot weaker than him, but probably still stronger than most of the losers in Sanctuary. It _was_ possible, actually _more_ than possible.

Kyubi shrugged to himself. Oh well, if the brat had got loose he'd show up sooner or later. Kyubi covered another yawn, and then glanced at the kneeling and chained figure on the raised dais. Now _she_ might be interesting to talk to.

Pushing away from the wall, the demon strode over and crouched in front of her, ignoring the two guards flanking her on either side. There were suspicious glances, but as long as Kyubi didn't actually _do_ anything besides talk the guards seemed to decide it wasn't worth chasing him off.

"Still see the future?" He asked, cocking his head cheerily to the side.

The Lady stirred, hair sliding out of her face as she lifted her head to look at him. Her eyes no longer contained held bottomless star fields. Instead, with her power contained, they were a blank white. They looked like the eyes of a blind woman. "What do you think?" She answered, sounding tired. "And I never really saw the future in its entirety, just bits and pieces."

"Well, you certainly missed an important bit," Kyubi said, gesturing at the chains.

"Indeed." She suddenly bent forward towards him, far enough that the guards couldn't hear her next words. "But I still saw enough to know that things are not over, and they won't end with these," the Lady said, lifting her arms so that he could hear the chains clank.

Kyubi suddenly grinned, fiercely. "Good," he whispered back into her ear. "I was getting bored."

He drew away again and they stared at each other, red meeting blank white. The Lady sighed again. "You are unpredictable. But. . . not about everything."

The demon cocked his head quizzically. "Oh really?"

"Really."

Kyubi shrugged, and looked at her again, seemingly bored with the conversation. Then, idly, he reached out and traced the kanji tattooed on her cheek. "Outcast," he read aloud, voice an amused murmur. "Who gave this to you, the gods or the demons?"

"Both." Her face was as expressionless as her blank eyes.

"Did you make them pay?"

She drew away from his curious touch. "Only those that were within my reach," she said, voice flat.

"And you don't think I'm going to go back to that little ninja village and destroy it, and everyone in it, for sealing me away? How hypocritical of you."

"I think you have other priorities now. And _he_ would never forgive you for doing such a thing."

"_He'd_ forget about it, eventually. Demons have long lives."

"No, he would never forget, and he would hate you forever," she said, voice soft as she shook her head slightly.

He snorted. "What, this one of those pieces of the future you've seen?" He said mockingly.

"Yes."

Kyubi paused and stared at her, momentarily speechless. Then: "You've _seen_ it?"

"Yes. Have you thought about what I've said? The child needs some space before he will fully accept you."

Kyubi's eyes narrowed. "So you keep telling me, I . . ." He suddenly cut himself off, and sniffed the air. A brief commotion at the entrance of the huge room drew both his and the bound Lady's attention.

A blood-splattered cyclops stumbled in. "Mai, they're fighting back, we can't . . ." he suddenly gurgled, grabbing his throat, and then fell over. His single eye was glazed.

Very obviously dead.

"Finally, something fun," Kyubi said, grinning in such a way that prominently displayed his fangs. He rubbed his hands together gleefully. "I so love violence."

The Lady snorted inelegantly.

In to the room spilled spirits, human freaks, minor demons, and things in between. Some carried weapons with which to free their half-god leader, others were their _own_ weapon. They were met with more of the same, though these creatures fought for very different ideals. Kyubi's eyes lazily scanned over the melee, looking for that one bright presence that he sensed first. Sure enough, he spotted Naruto's spiky head of blond hair among those incoming, and he wasn't alone. The fox stared with more than a little amusement at the two dark human heads by his side, particularly at the one clothed in blue. "Well, well," the demon muttered. "Sasuke to the rescue once again."

With a burst of orange chakra, Naruto sent his fist through the metal armor of the creature in his way and then tossed the body aside. "Pervert-fox!" He shouted over the noise. "What the hell do you think you're doing?!"

Ignoring the pitched battle taking place around them, the two held a staring contest. Naruto's eyes were smoldering with righteous annoyance, while the fox's gaze was merely amused. Neither of them reacted when Sasuke landed smoothly beside Naruto and looked Kyubi up and down expressionlessly.

His dismissive snort managed to draw their attention where his mere presence had not. "So that's the demon-fox? He doesn't look like much."

Red human met red demon eyes with an almost audible snap, and a new staring contest began. Kyubi's expression was disdainful. And Naruto could tell by his growing smirk that the demon was about to say something that was bound to piss off the other ninja. "Neither do you, _human_. Though I _think_ I remember you, you're that Suseke guy."

"It's _Sasuke_."

"Whatever," the fox said, waving a dismissive hand in a gesture calculated to infuriate. Naruto's head pinged back in forth between them as if he was watching a tennis match. "And you've been the brat's teammate for how long?"

"Hey, who you calling a brat?!" The blond shouted in outrage.

They both ignored him.

Sasuke looked at the demon suspiciously. "We've been teammates for a while."

"My, aren't you slow."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Kyubi lazily inspected his claws, and then spoke casually. "All those pent up hormones must really be affecting your brain if you can't figure it out. Here, I'll clear it up for you. I. Got. There. First."

The dark ninja went still. Naruto glanced at him hesitantly. He wasn't sure what they were talking about, but whatever it was, the blond had a bad feeling. "Um, Sasuke?"

The other ninja didn't answer, but Kyubi spoke up for him. "Don't worry about Suseke, brat, he's _mulling_. With that stick up his ass, it takes a while."

Sharingan tainted eyes snapped up at that, and with a snarl worthy of the fox-demon himself, Sasuke attacked. Naruto's eyes widened when he saw the tamed lightening held within his fist. Sasuke wasn't bothering with kunai or hand-to-hand, he had immediately started out with the chidori, which meant he had started to power up before the fox-demon had finished talking.

The loud noise of Sasuke's ultimate attack drowned out the other sounds of battle, and Naruto watched with openmouthed shock as the ninja used his terrible speed to close the distance between them and then leapt at the demon.

And was stopped cold.

A split second before Sasuke's attack had connected, Kyubi had lifted his own arms in a block. The uplifted fists where glowing red with concentrated power, and the demon had actually captured the ninja's chidori saturated hand in his own fist.

Sasuke had a couple seconds to stare in shock at his blocked attack, and then suddenly the energy trapped between them _exploded_. The force of the blast knocked the ninja away from the fox and sent him sailing with painful velocity through the air. Naruto cursed, and reacted, using his own speed and enhanced strength to catch Sasuke before he splattered all over the floor. The blond grunted with the force of impact, but managed to only get knocked back a few dozen feet instead of clear across the room.

Naruto landed and looked down at the boy in his arms. "Sasuke." And then a little louder when he didn't immediately respond. "_Sasuke_! Are you okay?"

Dark eyes fluttered opened in the pale face and blinked at Naruto for a second before focusing completely. "What the hell was that?" Sasuke muttered, weakly pushing himself out of the blonde's arms. He turned his head and stared at the demon-fox, who was, amazingly, still in the same place he had been before the explosion. One red eyebrow was cocked at him in amusement, and Sasuke tensed further. There wasn't a scratch on the Kyubi. "_Shit_," he breathed, staring in horrified amazement.

Kyubi grinned briefly, and then turned his attention to the small group of creatures who were descending on him with cries of "free the Lady!" The demon didn't even bother to move, he just increased the amount of chakra around him and the raised dais containing the woman with an impenetrable barrier. There were shrieks as the fox used his speed to briefly leave the safety of his barrier to inflict damage with his claws and then return behind it.

Naruto set the wobbly Sasuke down besides Shikamaru. "Watch him," the blond ordered, and then sprinted to the dais.

"Wait! Dobe, don't be stupid!" Sasuke called behind him, though Naruto was already ignoring him as he reached the barrier. With a snarl the blond called up his orange chakra and jumped at the wall of energy. He remained suspended for several minutes as his orange fought against the red, and then with a hollow cracking sound, the piece of barrier broke and Naruto was through.

The blonde's feet touched down on the ground briefly, and then he was suddenly tackling the startled fox-demon, sending them both crashing through the energy field and on to the stone floor, where they rolled, glowing with separate but like power as they traded blows.

Behind them, the red chakra barrier surrounding the raised dais and the Lady flickered, and then disappeared. The three injured creatures that had been kept at bay rushed over to free her.

Kyubi grunted in pain as one of Naruto's punches connected, and then he finally managed to pin the boy. The blond continued to struggle, and looked up at him, blue eyes glaring with betrayal. "I can't let you do this pervert-fox!"

Kyubi growled and held the struggling boy down. "And why the hell no?! Don't you realize that this is my nature?"

"And what about my nature?! I don't _want_ to hate you!"

The fox's grip loosened slightly as he stared into tear filled eyes, and Naruto took advantage of the slight leeway to kick up and send the demon flipping over him. The powerful hit sent Kyubi careening through the air to crash against the wall behind him. Cracks split out from the point of impact, and with a pained grunt, the demon peeled himself off the wall and landed on the ground, staring at the blond. He took an uncertain step forward, expression suddenly strange, and Naruto tensed, not sure what this new look meant.

A wall of fire suddenly roared between them. "It's not going to end like this! I'll kill you all if I have to!" Someone screamed, voice odd and inhuman.

Kyubi hissed, and drew back from the heat. In front of him, several creatures were struggling to free the Lady from her chains, though it seemed that none of them were powerful enough to handle the manacles with ease. Still, he realized that this scene was what had provoked the shouted words. It was Mai who had screamed, and Kyubi felt his eyes widen as he stared at the man.

Before, Mai could have passed for human if not for the flames that danced on his head instead of hair. But now, that fleshy body had disappeared, leaving nothing but a creature of pure fire in its wake. The flame was vaguely body shaped, with burning coals in the place of eyes and a gaping hole for a mouth. Mai looked completely out of control, sending fire out in zigzagging paths from his body until the room was practically dripping in flame. One path hit a creature with bird wings and it let out a high-pitched scream before being incinerated.

Kyubi growled as he noticed one of the paths of fire snaking towards Naruto. Swiftly, he leapt through the burning wall separating them – chakra minimizing the damage to him – and grabbed the boy before leaping out of the way. Naruto's arms tightened around his neck as they flew through the air, and Kyubi felt him tense. "Sasuke," he hissed in sudden horror.

Kyubi glanced over his shoulder, only to see a virtual wall of unavoidable flame heading towards the two human ninjas and a group of their allies. Without even thinking, the demon turned directions in midair, using his chakra as a base to push off, and quickly landed before the endangered group. Quickly, he shoved Naruto behind him and roared as he sent a huge blast of his own energy to intercept the flame.

The impact caused a huge fissure to appear in the floor where the two met. Kyubi's eyes narrowed. Obviously, this wasn't any ordinary fire.

Naruto grabbed his shoulder and brought his attention to the increased flame around them. Escape for them was being cut off. "You can't stop them all!" The blond shouted.

Kyubi hissed as he thought quickly. Naruto was right; he couldn't stop everything. He could easily escape himself, and even bring Naruto with him, but that would mean abandoning the blonde's human friends to the mercy of the flames. And that, the fox suddenly realized, is something that Naruto would _never_ forgive him for.

Suddenly the demon's eyes landed on the dais. Several creatures were still trying to free the Lady, though one of them had already succumbed to the fire. It appeared the chains were too much for them.

There was still one chance.

With a snarl, Kyubi leapt towards the raised dais, though every instinct he had rebelled against leaving Naruto alone to face the flames. He would just have to trust that the boy had the power to deal with them.

Kyubi barely dodged another path of flame, though the fire singed his back badly. Ignoring the pain, he landed besides the chained Lady, pushing one of her would be rescuers out of the way when it didn't move fast enough. Chakra aura fully in place, he bent down and yanked the manacles from her body, hissing in discomfort as they tried to pull the energy from his body. He tossed the chains to the side.

In the next second he was stumbling to the side as the Lady rose to her feet. Black energy swirled around her and she turned to face her flame-engulfed tormentor. "This is the end, Mai. Deal with it!"

The room went dark.

For a second, the flame battled against the encroaching blackness, and then suddenly it was swallowed whole. The only light in the room came from Mai himself. The darkness wiggled over him in curious tentacles, and he screamed as everywhere it touched his body the fire went out. Suddenly, the inky blackness gathered itself.

Then it _reached_ for him.

He disappeared into the darkness, and then they heard him scream. Loud and high-pitched, the sound strained the limit of even inhuman vocal cords.

Abruptly, the noise cut off.

For a second, silence and darkness reigned supreme, and then it slowly pulled back. Gradually the blackness slunk away, outer edges of the room first, pulled back into the Lady. The room was bright again, though all traces of fire were gone, even the fissure where the Kyubi's energy had met the wall of flame had disappeared. As for where Mai had stood . . .

He was gone. Utterly.

With the lifting of the blackness, Kyubi's eyes immediately sought out Naruto. The blond was helping Sasuke to his feet, staring around the now fire free room in amazement. He appeared to be unhurt, and the demon let out a breath he hadn't even realized he had been holding. Naruto looked up and met the demon's eyes. He grinned and waved, and the fox lifted a weak hand to return the gesture.

Someone stepped up beside him. He turned his head . . .

And immediately fell into the blank, star-strewn space behind the Lady's eyes. With a wrench he pulled himself out and quickly avoided her eyes. "I see you're back to your full power," he muttered, irritated.

"And I see you made the right decision. For both of you," she returned.

Kyubi scowled. "Shut up."


	9. Epilogue

**Author's Notes**: My wonderful beta made me fan art of the Kyubi! Go take a look, at: www. mediaminer. org /fanart /view. php/ 165463, (just take out the spaces). 

**Epilogue**

"You should come visit us again someday!" Kita said, smiling in childish enthusiasm as her butterfly wings flapped excitedly behind her. 

Naruto looked at her from his crouched position and grinned. "I'll do that, or maybe someday you can visit me."

The little girl's eyes widened. "You mean, out _there_?" She squeaked.

"Sure, why not? I'll keep anyone from giving you any trouble. All three of you could come!" He gestured behind her at Kouichi and Takahiro, both of who were staring at him with equally wide eyes, (or at least the frog-boy was, Naruto wasn't even sure if the cloaked kid _had_ a face, let alone _eyes_). They seemed happy to let her do the talking. It seemed she really was the leader, though Naruto knew better then to say that out loud.

"_Wow_," Kita breathed, staring up at him with amazement. With a grin, Naruto reached out and ruffled her hair before straightening up to face the Lady. Beside her, Shikamaru was having what looked like an earnest conversation with Kameko. The tree-woman's bark covered arms gestured here and there as they talked.

The Lady looked at him, expression serious. "Are you sure you want to go back? You are welcome to stay here."

Naruto smiled and shook his head. "Nah, Konoha is my home. Though I think I'm going to leave out the stuff about the demon fox getting out in the mission report."

The Lady's mouth quirked, though she didn't seem surprised by his answer.

The three ninjas had stayed in Sanctuary for the last couple days, helping the citizens recover from the near takeover. There had been dead to bury and children to reassure. Because they had helped save Sanctuary, the Lady had agreed to let them leave if they swore an oath to never tell any humans about the place. They had agreed, realizing that Sanctuary was the only place for most of the people here. Skikamaru had even suggested that they bring back a wolf carcass to convince the villagers that there were no monsters in the Moonshadow hills, though this would require that the denizens of Sanctuary be a bit more careful in the future. And so they had spoken the oath, and Naruto suspected that there had been more to this oath than just words, he had felt the tingle of _something_ through his body as he had spoke the necessary phrases.

And so they had said their oath and helped the people of Sanctuary get everything back in order. Even the demon-fox had helped, though Naruto hadn't seen much of him the past few days. Though he had seen Sasuke go off with him briefly and have what seemed like an intense conversation. The Sharingan-user didn't really seem to know what to do with Kyubi after he had saved all their lives, so Naruto had been a little anxious to see them talking. Still Sasuke had returned from the conversation looking thoughtful, and the blond was just _dying_ to know what they had talked about. However, badgering Sasuke about it had only gotten him an amused shake of the head and a softly spoken "dobe." The Kyubi had been just as reticent on the subject.

Speaking of pervert-fox . . .

Naruto scanned their send off crowd, and then frowned as he realized Kyubi wasn't among the throng. Surprisingly enough, the fox-demon had decided to stay behind in Sanctuary. Naruto had had mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, keeping the fox away from temptation was probably a good thing, he was still pretty pissed at the village for sealing him, and it would be very bad if he decided he still wanted revenge. On the other hand, Naruto was - at least a little - going to miss the pervert-fox.

Of course, not having Kyubi around was going to make things a lot less confusing.

Even if _Sasuke_ was acting all weird now - it definitely hadn't been a good idea to let them talk uninterrupted.

Still, Naruto wished stupid pervert-fox was around so that he could at least say goodbye.

"Come on, dobe, it's time to go." Sasuke said.

Naruto started a little to realize him and Shikamaru had already started to walk away into the forest. The blond did one less sweep of the crowd, hoping for an appearance by the Kyubi, but he was nowhere to be found. With a sigh, Naruto places his foot on the first step of the stairs leading out of Sanctuary's entrance.

"Oi, what is this? Live inside someone for sixteen years and they just leave without saying goodbye?"

Naruto spun around with a sudden grin. "Pervert-fox! You came!"

Kyubi snorted, and strode forward to stand with in inches of him. "Course I did."

They stared at each other for a moment, both grinning slightly. Then Kyubi glanced behind Naruto at Sasuke, who, though he was standing still with his arms crossed, somehow managed to look impatient. The fox's grin gained a naughty tint, and suddenly he reached out and yanked Naruto to him. After he had the boy close, he reached down and gently lifted the blonde's chin to stare into very wide blue eyes.

He bent down and kissed him

It was a gentle kiss, until Kyubi licked across his closed lips and coaxed them open. Then it got wet and passionate. Naruto moaned softly.

Suddenly, the fox pushed Naruto away, and the boy shrieked as he toppled off the stairs . . .

And right into Sasuke's arms. The blond peered up at his teammate with some surprise, then shook himself and screamed. "Pervert-fox!"

The demon leered, then looked with some seriousness at Sasuke. "Make sure he stays out of trouble," he said finally.

"Hey!" Naruto exclaimed. "Don't talk about me like I'm not here!" They both ignored him.

The dark-haired ninja studied Kyubi in return, than he shrugged. "I always do," he returned, with a vaguely annoyed grunt.

Naruto looked at them both quizzically, then he shook himself again and waved at Kyubi. "Bye pervert-fox!" The ninjas started to walk away.

"Hey Naruto!" For once it wasn't brat or kid, just his name. The blond stopped and turned around, looking questioningly at the fox. Beside him, he could feel Sasuke do the same. "Don't get too comfortable without me. I'll be sure to visit you soon." The fox said, voice wicked. Then he leered.

Naruto looked at the leering demon, and suddenly blushed, fiercely.

Beside him, Sasuke glanced at the blond, and took in the red face. Then he shot a near-murderous glare at Kyubi, and grabbed Naruto's arm. The blond broke his embarrassed – yet half-mesmerized – stare at the fox, and looked questioningly at him. "Sasuke, what . . ."

Using the grip on his arm, Sasuke shot one last glare behind him, and then forcefully dragged Naruto from the demon's presence. Shikamaru followed bemusedly, though not before lazily waving at Kameko and the others who had watched the whole drama play out. The three ninjas disappeared from sight.

Kyubi stared after them thoughtfully, then his face broke out into a sharp toothed grin. "Yep," he mused. "I'll definitely be seeing you soon."

Ahead of him, still being dragged along by Sasuke, Naruto sneezed.

**The End**

Thanks for reading and reviewing! You guys have been really great; I didn't expect the response I got for this story. Now lets all spread the Kyubi-love. Go on. Shoo.


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